FALLING LAVA
02-21-12 Yosemite National Forest
Check out the amazing video from one of nature’s propular attractions highlighted on “Wake Up with Al” Weekdays at:
http://www.aol.com/video/falling-lava-022112/517278113/?ncid=webmail15
THIS IS SO COOL! I wish I could dash up to Yosemite just to see this rare sight.
MONDAY MUSINGS: “I Quit” slugs it out with “Persistence”….
You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you’re working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success – but only if you persist. ~ Isaac Asimov ~~~~
I quit! These were the words I wrote in my now defunct monthly newsletter (I do enjoying blogging more often) back in the summer of 2010. Oh, I wasn’t talking about not writing any more. In fact, after rereading the newsletter today, I have to say the sentiments and goals I shared then haven’t changed. Thank goodness!
I thought it might be fun today for you to read my original newsletter article. Then, I’ll share what I’ve learned and how far I’ve come in the past year and a half. So pour a glass or cup of your favorite beverage and settle in because this trip down memory lane might be a tad longer than my usual Musings. (The trip is worth it though!)
It was the summer of 2010…
I quit! The sentiment has been on my mind a lot recently. No. I won’t quit writing, although I will admit I considered it…for about 2 nanoseconds. The moment the thought escaped its bounds, my brain stood up, pushed its way to the bully pulpit and shouted in my head, “Hi! My name is Karen Docter, and I’m addicted to writing. It’s been six months, four days and ten minutes since I last wrote my last full chapter! ”
Yeah, not only is my brain entirely too independent for my peace of mind but it’s stubborn as well. It’s a good thing we do love to write together. Most of the time. 
For those who don’t know me well, I’ve been at this awhile. This meaning working toward a career in writing. Awhile translates to when I joined RWA in the latter part of 1991. That’s when I began to think my writing could become my career. Who doesn’t want to make a living out of something we love? I wish we all had the ability to get paid to do what makes us happiest. The world might be a better place!
Sorry. I digress.
And that’s what this Musing is all about. I wish I could say I’ve been walking hand-in-hand with Persistence during all of those intervening years. I did well until after the new millennium kicked in. I was writing traditional and short contemporary full time. I had seven books under my belt and had generated interest in my writing with New York and Canadian editors, even if the projects weren’t quite what were needed at the time. I can write well. I even had an agent who believed in my projects as much as I did.
Then I got hit with several whammies. The publishing lines toward which I’d aimed my projects kept shutting down, forcing me to evaluate my goals and my genre. My agent closed her doors around the same time. I started a personal relationship with debilitating medical issues. My writing hit a long dry spell. While many authors can write through anything, I discovered my threshold didn’t match my yearning. Persistence rolled off the wagon beneath just about everything else.
Yet I’m still not prepared to give up my writing career. Why?
Persistence has been whining in my ear for months now. Every morning she’s right there as I brush my teeth whispering schedule changes in the mirror. “Take 20 minutes between lunch and organizing online classes to review the two prologue versions for KILLING SECRETS.” Persistence is there when I take a break from teaching a class, tugging me toward my laptop. “Kick up your feet to ease the pain and, oh, by the way, take a minute to finetune the victim’s emotional distress after she’s kidnapped.” Persistence accompanies me into the kitchen when I throw dinner into the microwave at 9 p.m. after I’ve shut down my desktop with the intent to decompress from 14 hours of computer work. “Come on! You can at least read through what you wrote last week for IN DANGER’S SHADOW so you’re ready to pick it back up in the morning…after I’ve whispered tomorrow’s schedule changes into your ear!”
Persistence has become…persistent. I’m not quite sure what kicked her in the backside. I can’t say I even noticed it much until she became downright ornery. But, clearly, she’s been sneaking up behind I quit for months and wearing her down.
Hey! You don’t have to hit me up the side of the head twice! Wait. Yes. Evidently you do. But this writer’s getting the message. So I quit.
I quit fighting the inevitable. I quit allowing other things to get in my way, even if my friends throw puppy dog eyes at me to get me on board with a project. I quit dwelling on my health to the detriment of my writing. If I have to go through two surgeries to fix the problems, so be it. I quit pushing my writing, the one thing besides my family and friends that means the world to me, to the back burner of my life. I quit because Persistence is a lot stronger and she’s going to keep kicking my butt until I quit quits.
So. I’m back. Did ya miss me?!
It’s now February 20, 2012….
A lot has changed in the last year and a half. When I wrote that original Musing, I launched back into my life and career with a completely different mindset. I’m now taking better care of me. I split my genres. And last, but not least, I’ve taken my career in my own hands and published my first book.
• Taking better care of me was an imperative first step. In addition to some serious health issues I was not cognizant of or simply ignoring, I had run myself into the ground trying to juggle too many balls. The ball with the word write on it wasn’t even in the air much of the time. It sat on the ground looking up at me with reproach until I picked it up and tried to juggle it with all the others. And my health suffered.
I’ve since learned that Wonder Woman is a comic book hero and I just can’t wear her tights with any panache at all. Many of us, as women, overextend ourselves in some misguided attempt to be the perfect mom, wife, girlfriend, sister, friend, and writer and, the truth is, there’s no such person! If I were to encourage you, writer or reader, to take anything from what I’ve learned it’s to give yourself permission to not be perfect at everything. You’re not doing anyone a favor by killing yourself with unrealistic expectations.
• Splitting my genres gave me room to be truly creative once again. I wrote traditional and short contemporary novels for a long time. I loved the books I wrote. I did well even though I didn’t actually sell for one reason or another. But line closures and my growth toward romantic suspense told me I needed to move on. At the time, it was a good decision but with the recent industry changes, I realized I’d thrown the baby out with the bath water. Moving on to romantic suspense didn’t mean I had to give up on my contemporaries. Besides, my romantic suspense has taken a much darker tone than expected and I find the cute contemporaries are the breath of fresh air I need to offset the darker suspense. Splitting my genres was the best thing I could have done for my creativity.
• Taking my career into my hands and publishing my own projects, quite honestly, had never been on my radar. I didn’t want to go with a digital publisher. Not to diss any of the wonderful digital publishers out there or to the great authors who publish with them, it was impossible for me to see me going that route. I’m “old school” and I had my heart set on print. Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!
Sweeping changes in the industry with the Kindle, Nook, and other self-publishing digital formats, changed my mind quite recently. Like late last fall recently! My critique partners were encouraging, okay, pushing me to finish my current suspense project to take advantage of the new publishing opportunities. I wasn’t ready to push my unfinished baby onto the world. Their response? “So publish one of your contemporary romances. They’re great and readers will love them, and you can take a break from serial killers once in a while.”
I love my critique partners! I have no doubt part of their reasoning was that they had started to get as buried in the darkness of my psychological suspense as I was, but they do know me and my writing. And as they so often are, they were right. That next day, I split my genres, tweaked my website to accommodate two genres, and pulled out one of my favorite contemporary romances – a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest – and got to work.
That leads me back to the Isaac Asimov quote I pulled from the internet a year and a half ago. I’ve come full circle. Persistence has finally K.O.d, knocked out and obliterated, I Quit winning the championship round on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, the day I published my debut contemporary romance novel, Satin Pleasures. Since last week, I’ve been feeling like Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, my hands thrown high as I pump the air with my fists at the top of the stairs in celebration.
I know this is only the beginning. I’ll have to go through the entire process with the next book and the next, and the next after that because I want you, my readers, to get the very best stories I can write for you. I have six brothers in my upcoming romantic suspense series, Thorne’s Thorns. I plan to have the first brother, Patrick Thorne’s story out this summer.
I’m still learning – we won’t even discuss how I’ll add promotions and blogging and reviews, etc. to the balls I’m now juggling — but as long as I keep company with Persistence, I just may see my way clear to recapturing a bit of the Wonder Woman in me.
Nah! Never mind. That’s just so wrong…I still can’t fit into her tights!
~~~~~~~~~
[If you’re interested in reading an excerpt of SATIN PLEASURES, I’ve posted one on my website at www.karendocter.com. The book is now available on Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/Satin-Pleasures-ebook/dp/B0078VSY6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329777162&sr=8-1 and Nook at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/satin-pleasures?keyword=satin+pleasures&store=book for only $3.99.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Yesterday, at noon as promised, I randomly pulled one of the names from the five (5) comments on my February 13th blog post. I’m happy to announce the winner of the #FREE digital copy of SATIN PLEASURES is Gerri Bowen! Congratulations, Gerri! I’ll contact you privately to get your email address so I can send your PDF copy. Thanks, everyone, for commenting!
KAREN’S KILLER FIXIN’S: MINI-CRABCAKES
It’s time for Karen’s Killer Fixin’s! Over the years, I’ve filled two 4-inch, 3-ring binders with my own creations as well as recipes my family and friends were willing to share with me. I simply love to cook and want to share that love with my readers. So every Friday, I share one recipe I think you and your family might enjoy. It might be a main course recipe. A cookie or baked item. Candy. Salads. Whatever strikes my eye and fancy…which today is MINI-CRABCAKES.
I love seafood! If it comes from the sea, I’m likely to have tried it and loved it. Craved it. One of my absolute favorites are crabcakes. Not all crabcakes are created equal, though, so I looked for a good recipe for a long time. This is it! It’s easy to make, too. Make a salad and you’ve got dinner. (Hmmm, where is my grocery list? I’ve got a craving!)
I hope you enjoy today’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 25 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, etc.
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MINI-CRABCAKES
[Makes 24 mini-crabcakes]
1 lb. fresh or pkg. crabmeat
½ sweet red pepper, finely diced
3 scallions, chopped
2 eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. dried tarragon, crumbled
1 cup yellow cornmeal
6 T. vegetable oil
Remoulade, recipe follows
Pick through crabmeat to remove shell or cartilage. Stir in red pepper, scallion, eggs, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and tarragon. Add ½ cup of the cornmeal; place remaining cornmeal in small bowl. Let mixture rest 10 minutes. Using 2 T. mixture for each, form 24 2-inch crab cake patties. Shape with your hands, then coat patties with remaining cornmeal. Heat 3 T. of the oil in large skillet over med-med/high heat. Cook 12 of the crab cakes for 3 minutes. Flip over; continue to cook an additional 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining 3 T. oil and remaining 12 crab cakes. Place on paper towels before serving with remoulade.
Remoulade: Stir together ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 T. chopped capers, 1 T. fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp. pickle relish, 2 tsp. sugar and a dash of hot-pepper sauce.
FIVE URBAN MYTHS…TRUTH OR MYTHS **ANSWERS**
Yesterday, I threw some urban myths at you and had you tell me if they are TRUTH or MYTH. Today, I’m posting the answers to those questions.
How did you do?!
Karen
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1. A London firm marketed ‘X-ray proof’ undergarments to shy women at the turn of the century.
TRUTH – The ploy was in response to the popularity of x-rays in the wake of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen’s 1895 discovery.
2. Your chances of being assaulted are higher in NYC than anywhere else in the U.S.
MYTH – Based on victim-to-population ratios, you’re more likely to be attacked in Arizona.
3. The Gartner Group once issued trading cards featuring its analysts.
TRUTH – The company has 3,700 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants.
4. Entering your PIN in reverse at any ATM will place an emergency call to police.
MYTH – Although the technology exists, it has never been implemented.
5. The Oregon Department of Transportation once used a half-ton of dynamite to blow up a Sperm Whale carcass.
TRUTH – The blast showered onlookers with rotten blubber and one large piece of debris crushed a car.
FIVE URBAN MYTHS…TRUTH OR MYTH?
It’s that time again! I’m going to throw some urban myths at you today just for fun. It’s your job to decide if they are TRUTH or MYTH. You don’t have to post your answers but, if you’d like to, feel free to post them today. Tomorrow, I’ll post the answers.
Karen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. A London firm marketed ‘X-ray proof’ undergarments to shy women at the turn of the century.
TRUTH or MYTH?
2. Your chances of being assaulted are higher in NYC than anywhere else in the U.S.
TRUTH or MYTH?
3. The Gartner Group once issued trading cards featuring its analysts.
TRUTH or MYTH?
4. Entering your PIN in reverse at any ATM will place an emergency call to police.
TRUTH or MYTH?
5. The Oregon Department of Transportation once used a half-ton of dynamite to blow up a Sperm Whale carcass.
TRUTH or MYTH?
SEE YOU TOMORROW WITH THE ANSWERS! HAVE FUN!!
I am thrilled to announce that my contemporary romance novel, SATIN PLEASURES, will release on Valentine’s Day!!! This novel has been a long time in coming. It began its life as a series contemporary, however, the publishing house I wrote it for ultimately closed the line. It was one of my favorite stories and finaled in the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Contest but, with nowhere to go, I tucked it away.
With the advent of Kindle and Nook and Smashwords and other new publishing opportunities, I am now able to breathe new life into this special story and share it with you.
To celebrate SATIN PLEASURES release I’m giving away copies here on my blog, my Facebook author page, and on Twitter.
1. I will choose one (1) winner from readers of this blog post who leave a comment. (Only one comment will be counted. )Comments will be accepted until noon on Sunday, February 19th. The winner of this random drawing will be announced in next Monday’s Musings post.
2. I will give away one (1) copy to a new Facebook friend at Karen Docter, Author. Please “like” me at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Karen-Docter-Author/112017712223396 and be my 250th friend and the book is yours!
3. I will give away one (1) copy to a new Twitter friend @KarenDocter. Please “follow” me at https://twitter.com/#!/KarenDocter and be my 1,650th friend and the book is yours!
Good luck to my three winners! I hope you like SATIN PLEASURES!!
BOOK PEEK – Satin Pleasures
Bustiers, Birds, and the Blues…
Dan McDonald walked away from the American dream, a life full of money, glamorous women and power. Now nothing can lure him back into the corporate death trap. Except….
Dan’s scheming aunt snares him into opening a lingerie shop in Tess Emory’s shopping mall. Tess is everything Dan has vowed to avoid…sexy, smart, and obsessed with work.
Tess is determined to make her life a success and right the wrongs of her past, no matter the cost.
They’re both going to discover that true love breaks all their rules.
EXCERPT
Chapter One
“Colby, if I’d had that brunette in my bass boat instead of you Aunt Mary would never have talked me off the lake.” Dan McDonald tore his gaze away from the view in the truck windshield to grin at his dog, affectionately named Colby, after the cheese the German shepherd loved so much. “Bet she doesn’t kiss like you…the brunette, I mean, not Aunt Mary.”
The dog whined, then attempted to wriggle his massive bulk into his master’s lap. Dan pushed his muzzle away. “Phew! Chances are she doesn’t smell like you, either.”
Colby bared his teeth in a grin.
Dan laughed. “You won’t think it’s so funny when we reach San Francisco and you get a bath.” He considered the stalled traffic. “That’s assuming we get across the bay.”
A fully loaded semi had jackknifed across both lanes of the westbound bridge and wedged in tighter than a cork in a genie’s bottle. The truck was to be dismantled for removal, the freight unloaded, and there appeared to be a debate as to which part of the process should be completed first.
He smiled at the speed with which the shock wave of information ran down the line of commuters. Many spilled from their cars to chat. A few lounged on their hoods, faces raised to the warm March afternoon sun. A pair of students in Stanford jerseys zipped a fluorescent orange Frisbee between the cars with all the ferocity of Kamikaze pilots.
Dan shook his head when he realized he’d pushed his old life behind him far enough to find amusement in the scene. He’d come a long way in the past year. Was it far enough? He’d been happy—well, content enough—with his solitary lifestyle…until his aunt tracked him down in Florida a couple of weeks ago.
She’d convinced him she and his mother needed him in California through June. However, he’d had three thousand miles to wonder if his temporary return to the rat race might prove to be the biggest mistake of his life. His impulse to turn the truck around had grown with each passing mile and he wondered if this traffic snarl was his last chance to save himself.
He certainly couldn’t complain about his first glimpse of San Francisco Bay. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The sun stirred bright color into the murky waves and streaked light across mirrored office buildings on the opposite shoreline. A light, salty breeze gave wing to a variety of raucous sea birds over his head and teased long tendrils of toffee-rich hair out of his brunette’s French twist.
His brunette.
Desire coiled deep in his belly as he watched her wiggle her bottom onto the hood of her car. With one hand resting on the driver’s side mirror on the open door, she talked briskly into her phone, her expression hidden behind sunglasses. The straight lemon skirt and fitted jacket she wore accentuated her rich, dark hair, full breasts, and slender waist. Spiked heels showcased legs long enough to fuel a man’s fantasies for months. Her hand waving in emphasis to whatever point she was making spoke to Dan of urgent caresses and wild passion.
The blend of cool professionalism and hot sensuality fostered the illusion a man only had to peel away one layer to expose the passionate woman beneath. He’d never seen a woman who made him feel so needy, so primitive, with barely one look…which is why he hadn’t bothered to pursue a woman since Charlotte Betham opted for her career over him last year. He might have made an effort to change her mind if she’d turned his crank this way!
Only a caveman would dream of ripping the phone from his lady’s hand. Only a cretin would throw it into the bay before he dragged her away to his cave for a year or two. Only a sex-starved man would allow such idiotic impulses to get out of hand.
“Maybe Aunt Mary dragged us back to civilization in time.” Dan scratched behind his dog’s ears. “Maybe I should go out on a date or two while we’re here. Take the edge off.”
Colby barked, and then rested his muzzle on the dashboard, pointing the way.
“No, it won’t be with my sexy brunette.”
The last thing Dan needed in his life was another career woman to tempt him back to the competitive edge like the one he’d ridden in Chicago. He’d leaped off that fast track without a backward glance—nearly dying did have a way of changing a man’s perspective, after all—but he could still spot a workaholic when he saw one. He’d lived with one all his life. First, his father. More recently, Charlotte and himself. And since he didn’t know yet if he’d beaten that particular inclination, once and for all, he wasn’t taking any chances.
The odd thing about chance, though, was the way it tended to come up and slap him when he wasn’t looking. Dan stared with consternation at the bright orange saucer veering out of control across his vision, aimed directly for his brunette. “Watch out!”
He jumped from the truck in time to see the rigid plastic disc slam into her right cheek with a sharp thwack, angle over her head and disappear over the bridge railing into the bay. Her cell sailed right behind it.
Dan sprinted in her direction but she’d fallen off the hood of her car and slumped to the pavement, her back against the front fender, before he could reach her. Kneeling beside her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
She didn’t respond.
“I didn’t mean to hit her!” The Frisbee thrower squatted next to Dan and watched him remove her cracked sunglasses. “Oh, man, she’s out cold.”
Dan clamped a lid on his own spike of concern and thrust both hands into the woman’s silky twist of hair. In the time it took him to run from his truck he’d seen her fall against the side mirror on her downward slide, and then ram her head against the open car door. So, it came as no surprise when he located a sizable lump over her left ear.
He examined the welt rising on her cheekbone, his curse short, succinct. Her head cradled in his hands, he brushed his thumbs against her temples. “Can you hear me?”
The woman’s eyelids fluttered, lifted. “W-What happened? H-Harry? Where’s Harry?”
Who the devil was Harry? Dan gazed into cinnamon brown eyes fogged with confusion and experienced a surprising surge of possessiveness. He couldn’t drag his hands away from her fast enough. “If Harry’s the one on the phone, I believe he’s now conferencing with the sharks.”
“Oh. Oh! He’ll kill me!” She shifted, wrinkled her nose in obvious bewilderment at the sight of her legs stretched in front of her. “Why am I sitting on the ground?”
The student piped in. “My Frisbee hit you. You fell.”
“Frisbee? Fell?”
Dan frowned. A concussion wasn’t out of the question. Although her pupils didn’t appear unequal or dilated, there was a large goose egg behind her ear and a welt across her cheek that grew more red and ugly by the minute. He searched his brain for the standard questions used on concussion victims. “What’s your name, and who’s the President?”
“Tess Emory, and Stuart Webster.”
“One out of two isn’t bad,” he murmured. For all he knew, Tess Emory wasn’t her name either.
“Oh, man, she doesn’t know—”
Dan glared the student into silence, motioning the kid to her other side so they could both help her to her feet. “Which is which?” he asked, aware he needed to keep her talking.
“I’m Tess.” She wobbled on her spiked heels. “The president’s Webster.”
Dan quickly calculated the distance to the camper in the back of his truck. “I think we have a problem. Webster is not President of the United States.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. Wait. I thought you meant the president of my company!” She assured him she did indeed know her country’s president. “Now I know two presidents’ names and my own, but I don’t know your names.”
The student introduced himself and apologized for her injuries. He wanted to share his doctor’s phone number but, when she refused his assistance, he shrugged and walked off to rejoin his buddy sitting on the hood of their car.
Which left Dan where he shouldn’t be now that the danger had passed…overwhelmed by the appeal of toffee hair, cinnamon eyes, and spicy scent. Gasping for air like a wide-mouth bass in the bottom of his boat. Alone…with his brunette.
Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** Jennifer Zane
Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**! Today, in lieu of one of my recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors.
Introducing author, JENNIFER ZANE, and her recipe for Pulled Chicken Sandwiches!
BOOK PEEK ~ Gnome On The Range
Once you get the zing you can’t go back.
Jane West has everything a woman could want. A job in a small Montana town’s only adult store, two busy young boys and one dead husband. Everything except a little excitement–a little zing. But that changes one summer morning at a garage sale when her kids buy some garden gnomes.
Now someone wants those gnomes and will let nothing get in their way. Including Jane. This new excitement for Jane spells trouble for a relationship with new neighbor–and hot fireman–Ty Strickland. Can Jane and Ty handle a relationship meddling mother-in-law, crazy kids, and stay alive while trying to solve the mystery of the garden gnomes?
Excerpt: http://jenniferzane.com/sneak-peek/
FMI about Jennifer and her book…. http://www.jenniferzane.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/vrvUI3
Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferZane
I hope you enjoy today’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 24 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.
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PULLED CHICKEN SANDWICHES (EASY!!)
In your crockpot place boneless chicken breasts. Pour your favorite BBQ sauce in, stir around and lift meat to coat. Cook on low for at least 3 hours. When ready to eat, take chicken out, pull apart with 2 forks and return to crockpot. Scoop out chicken and sauce. Serve on rolls. I like jalapeno jack cheese and dill pickle slices with it.
** For an easy cleanup, don’t forget the crockpot liner!
It’s time again to list five interesting — or not so interesting — facts about me! I’m going to continue that on the occasional Wacky Wednesday until I run out of things to post or you all tell me to stop being so self-absorbed.
26. I’d never broken a bone until recently. My baby toe had a major disagreement with my recumbent bike a couple of weeks ago. A case of moveable object and an immovable one, a sure sign that exercise can be harmful to your health. It was a nasty event all the way around, and both parties are sorry. Actually, we don’t know for sure that it was broken since we didn’t x-ray the clumsy thing. I’m simply going by all of the professional opinions of what “looked like” and felt like a broken toe. So I’m claiming my first — and hopefully last, those things hurt! — broken bone. What’s interesting is that it took so long for it to happen. I end up in the emergency room a lot as a child with numerous sprains, strains, and possible concussions. Graceful and Karen were two words that didn’t meet in the same sentence…especially after I accidentally ran head first into the elementary school flagpole and knocked myself out cold. I’ll never live that one down!
27. I love to swim. Growing up I practically lived at the pool during the summer. Our neighborhood had a great public pool and I’d whip through my household chores so I could get there the moment the gate opened at 11:00 a.m. I’d hang with my friends all day, every day, soaking up the sun and flirting with boys. Regretfully, those memories got a bit tarnished when the world learned how dangerous it was to get that much sun. And we won’t even get started on how bad it is to ”tan” with baby oil w/iodine, the fad at the time. (Yeah, I’m aging myself!) Still, if I could build a pool at my house, I’d be swimming in it every day…with proper sunblock. Or even better, a poolhouse roof over my head!
28. I knew at a very early age that I was the future Mrs. Andy Gibbs. I was going to have a mansion in Australia and travel the world with him on his private jet, and have my own stash of chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne onboard. Andy was going to write his swoon-worthy songs and dedicate them to me at every concert, and we’d have a whole house full of kids who looked just like their daddy.
29. I knew at a very early age that I was the future Mrs. Bobby Sherman. We were going to have a horse farm in Kentucky and I would alternately travel to the set of his television show and his concerts. Our six kids would look just like their daddy and….
30. I knew at a very early age that I was the future Mrs…wait! Where are my diaries and wall posters?!
If you don’t know who either of these men are, I apologize for dragging you back into my teenybopper dreams without a proper introduction. Think Justin Bieber…only oodles and oodles better!!!
[If you're wondering about the numbers, this ongoing list of "5 new things" is not the first I've posted. To learn more about me, check the Wacky Wednesday category menu.]
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Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL**
Welcome to my new Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, in lieu of one of my own recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors.
Introducing author, ANN EVERETT, and her recipe for Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie ~ “Orgasm Pie”!
BOOK PEEK ~ Laid Out and Candle Lit
The nicest little town in Texas, Brownsboro, just had a murder.
Twenty-six year old Tizzy Donovan is a widow, single mother, daughter to the best baker in town, sister to the county Sheriff, and also known as the local girl who occasionally talks to the dead.
When Tizzy discovers a dead body in the cemetery, she goes to prime suspect number one, and lands in a decidedly unsweetened pickle. With lead after lead placing her in the crosshairs, her only hope and potential damnation come in the form of Texas Ranger Ridge Cooper. She won’t be able to wiggle her way out of this one with a sassy comeback and a helping of Better than Sex Cupcakes.
Cutting his teeth on his first murder case, Ranger Cooper becomes torn between duty and desire. His job gets a whole lot harder as he works to find a viable suspect other than Tizzy.
Adding some fun to the serious business of solving the crime is a skunk attack, a bar fight, and some downhome wit and wisdom served up Texas style by Tizzy’s mom, Pattiecake and Aunt Sugarpie.
LAID OUT AND CANDLE LIT is the first book in a series of three revolving around the same characters and set in the same location of small town Brownsboro, Texas. Because many scenes take place in SWEET THANGS BAKERY, a recipe from one of those scenes will be included in each book. For LAID OUT AND CANDLE LIT, the choice was Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie. A delectable, rich concoction guaranteed to become an addiction.
Owners of the bakery, Pattiecake McAlister and Sugarpie Monroe, will be releasing a SWEET THANGS cookbook very soon, brimming with…you guessed it…nothing but Sweet Thangs!
A native of the Lone Star state, Ann Everett is a former school secretary. For many years, Ann enjoyed doing stand-up comedy for businesses, corporations, and non-profit organizations. She is an active member of the Northeast Texas Writers’ Organization, where she currently serves as Director for their twenty-sixth annual writers’ conference.
Ann is an award winning short story author and has been published in on-line e-zines as well as several newspapers. She lives on a small lake in Northeast Texas with her husband.
FMI about Ann and her books… http://www.anneverett.weebly.com
Twitter: @TalkinTwang
Email: Ann.Everett@rocketmail.com
I hope you enjoy today’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 23 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.
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CHOCOLATE COCONUT PECAN PIE
“Orgasm Pie”
2 eggs
1 ½ Cups sugar
½ Cup cocoa
6 oz. evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
¼ cup margarine, melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (secret ingredient)
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut
1 unbaked deep dish pie shell
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs. (We use an electric mixer.) Add sugar and cocoa and mix well. Add milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and melted margarine, mix well. Stir in pecans and coconut, mix well by hand. Pour into pie shell and bake for 45 minutes or until firm.**
** If the edges of your crust start to get too brown before the pie is firm, cover the edges with foil or a pie crust shield.
*** You can use a frozen store bought pie shell if you like. We make our crust by hand.
PIE CRUST
1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
½ cup shortening
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water
Sift together flour and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry-blender—Sugarpie does this by hand. Pattiecake uses the dough hook with her stand mixer. Either way is fine, but Pattiecake’s is easier. Blend until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over the flour-shortening mixture continuing to blend either with the pastry-blender or the dough hook. You keep adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all is moistened. Your dough should be “wet” enough to gather into a ball and hold together.
On a lightly floured surface, flatten ball slightly and roll with rolling pin to 1/8 inch thick. If edges split, pinch together. Always roll spoke-fashion, rolling from center to edge of dough, using light strokes.
To transfer pastry, roll it over rolling pin, and then unroll it over pie plate, fitting loosely onto bottom and sides.
**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR WRITERS**
Only 3 Online Workshops Scheduled in 2012!
The “W” Plot…or The Other White Meat for Plotters©
A Plotting Workshop
By Award-Winning Author, Karen Docter
One of the staples of any writers’ group conversations is the plot. It’s integral to every novel, holds everything together. It’s the vehicle that carries readers from page one to “The End”. It’s one of the scariest things an author faces when s/he decides, hey, I want to write a novel!
How many of us have made this decision, then stared at that blank page or computer screen without a clue how to proceed? What about those of us who write by the seat of our pants, the pantsers? Do we dare risk scaring off our muse by [shudder] plotting our story? How do the mega-plotters, the overachievers, know when it’s time to stop and just put pen to paper?
Join four-time Golden Heart finalist and Daphne du Maurier winner Karen Docter as she shares the “W” plotting technique she’s used successfully for years.
Karen analyzes the movie “Romancing the Stone” to show how the technique works, discussing the detailed plot points for the main characters including the villain. Throughout this 4-week online workshop, you’ll uncover the skeleton of your own novel. Whatever your genre, by the end of the class not only will you have the tools you need to finish plotting your story using the “W”, you’ll know how to use it to write the synopsis we all love to hate…all without writing one word of the novel.
If you’ve already started your novel, that’s okay. It’s never too late to apply the principles of the “W” to your developing story. Have you run into a wall? Don’t know where to go next? Has the story gone flat? Use the technique to pull apart the elements of your story so you can plug the holes, work through/over/around walls that loom in your path, and get moving on your story once again.
This is a hands-on-your-own-book workshop designed for the novice or the experienced writer. Don’t miss this opportunity to add a new skill to your writer toolbox!
I hope you’ll join me online ~ Karen
Sponsor: Long Island Romance Writers
Date: February 6 – March 2, 2012
FMI or Register: http://www.lirw.org/
