Sugar and Spice

My women's fiction novel, In the Company of Women, is the story of a group of women who meet and come together during a critical and pivotal year in their lives. Not only do they support and assist each other as they deal with the situations they each face, they teach each other how gratitude, forgiveness and of course friendship can help you get through. Each of the women has a different lifestyle and career. Living in the fictional mountain town of Eagledale, Colorado, their diversity adds some interesting twists and turns. One of the characters, Emma Phillips, owns and operates Everything Nice, a bakery in the town. I write about many of the things that Emma bakes in the book and thought it would be fun to share one of the recipes with you all.

Emma's Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake

1-1/2 cups unbleached, sifted flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup fresh blueberries or other fruit

Topping

5 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift flour with sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl beat eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat until smooth. Spread in greased 9-inch square baking pan.

Dot batter with fruit.

Mix topping ingredients together until mixture resembles cornmeal. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 1 coffee cake.

Note: High Altitude adjustments are as follows:

Add 1 Tablespoon flour

Remove 1 Tablespoon sugar

Baking powder-change to 1-1/2 teaspoons

Change baking temperature to 375 degrees F, and adjust baking time to 45-50 minutes



Something to Think About

My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. 

~Thomas Helm

Spring Is Here and So's My New Book!

It’s the first day of Spring! This is the time of year when young men’s (and women’s) thoughts turn to those of love. Love means romance, and romance means -- romance novels!

My latest book Finding Normal is now out! This book is my foray into the romance genre and I hope you’ll check it out.

Here’s a brief synopsis: Cassidy Maguire is a world famous actress and singer who longs for the normal life she knew as a child. Deciding to take a break from her hectic life in Hollywood, she moves to the small town of Aspen Grove, Colorado to try to find some peace and quiet. When she meets the town’s veterinarian Seth Walters sparks fly almost immediately. Seth likes his life as it is, but his heart is drawn to Cassidy. Can they make their relationship work? And as rich and famous as she is, will Cassidy be able to gain the love she seeks and find normal?

Finding Normal is available for $2.99 on Amazon http://amzn.to/el9vua and Smashwords http://bit.ly/fxERs4 and will be available on other e-book retailers soon.

Question: One Genre or Not?

Should an author stick to only one genre or is it okay to branch out into other styles? This is a question I’ve been asking myself. I have two books out: one cozy mystery, and one women’s fiction. I’m wondering if readers can accept two such divers styles from one writer.

I think so. I write what I like to read, and I certainly don’t read only one genre. I tend to prefer mysteries over other types of books, but I will read just about anything if it’s well written and interesting to me. And as a reader I don’t stick to fiction. I love reading memoirs and biographies as well as histories.

Personally I think that most readers are sophisticated enough to tackle all types of books. If there is a reader who doesn’t like cozies they may like my women’s fiction. I also have a romance novel that may be coming out soon and that may appeal to yet another reader.

So I guess the answer to my own question is no. A writer should write what they want and not be forced to choose just one genre. Just as readers shouldn’t be corralled into one section of the bookstore, neither should authors.

What do you think?

Do Book Reviews Influence You?

Books reviews, particularly positive ones, are something author's are hoping for.  But as a reader do they help?  By that, do they influence you in your decision to read or to ignore a book?

As a reader I'm always looking for book reviews that give a bit of an overview of what the book is about.  This allows me to decide if the subject of the book even interests me.  Generally speaking, though, the rating that the reviewer gives it doesn't overly sway me.  If a book sounds interesting to me I want to read it regardless of what the reviewer might say.  And if the subject doesn't appeal to me than no matter how highly it's touted it won't get me to read it.

However, the reviews (opinions) that do sway me the most are those from people that I know.  One good friend of mine has praised a couple of books so that, despite my reservations, I did pick them up and read them.  Sadly, I didn't like them as much as my friend.  I'm not sorry to have read the books, and there have been many that this friend has recommended that I have enjoyed quite a bit.  Conversely, there have been some novels that have peaked my interest and when a friend has criticized it I have listened to that as well. 

When getting book reviews from those you know you can question them and find out specifics about why they liked or didn't like a book, something you obviously can't do when reading a review in a magazine or online. 

So my question today is, do book reviews influence you?

What Do You Like To Read?

I currently have four books I am reading. I read them as time permits and what my mood is. Sticking with one genre is not my style, so the books I’m reading right now are:

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
This is a young adult book, adventure/fantasy with a lot going on
The Sex Club by L.J. Sellers
A detective mystery full of twists and turns to keep you guessing
Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
A peek into the author's mind as he wrote the great American novel
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Debut novel about conflicts of family, love and war...just about to start this one

I don’t tend to stick with any type of book. I like good writing, enjoy a wide variety of stories, and don’t box myself in. I know there are readers who do like certain genres and tend to stick to those. That’s great! Sometimes I think I spread myself too thin. There are so many books/authors I want to read.

When I find an author that I particularly like I tend to plow through everything they’ve written, so I understand when readers like a certain style or writer and stick with them.

But what I’d like to know is: what do you like to read and why?

A New Year's List

I love to make lists.  A strange thing to love, but I do.  One list that makes me particularly happy is a list of books I want to read.  At the beginning of a new year I like to check out books that interest me.  Some are books that I didn't have time to read last year when it seemed like everyone I knew was reading and talking about them.  Some are books I stumbled across, and others are by authors I like.  I have a partial list made to start off 2011, and here they are!

The Sex Club and Secrets to Die For by L.J. Sellers

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion

The Escape Artist by Diane Chamberlain

Widow’s Tale by Maureen Miller

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler

I would like to know if any of you have read any of these books and what you thought of them.  And if you have recommendations for books I might not have come across yet, please tell me about them.  I have a long year ahead of me and I love to read!  Thanks!

Christmas Books

This is the time of year we are thinking of giving to those we care about.  One popular gift has always been books.  Books are fun to receive, and especially fun to give.  To go to a book store and look through all the selections and pick out just the right story for just the right person is a pleasure I have always enjoyed.  And now, to be able to look online for e-books to give from the comfort of my own home is a new treat.

But what about reading this time of year?  There are so many good holiday books out there for us to read and reread year after year.  Of course, we all think of the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, or Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory.  What about The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke?  Or The Christmas Shoes by Donna Van Liere?

There are too many Christmas books to mention here.  I would encourage every writer and reader out there to not only give books (both print and e-books) for Christmas, but to also pick up a book written about/for Christmas and read it this time of year.  It'll set the mood for the season and help you prepare for the celebrating.  And that's always a good thing, isn't it?