Coming Soon

My baby has a face.

I'm excited to announce my second novel, The Sisters of Madelaine Street, will be published next month. I don't have an exact date yet, but I believe it will be mid-month.

The Sisters was a tough, but touching book to write. So many things happen between siblings, some of it purposeful, a lot of it not. I wanted to capture the misalliances, misunderstandings, and abiding loyalty that exists between, in this case, sisters.


I hope you will look for it on Amazon next month.

Thank you.

Let's Eat Quiche!

One of my characters in my upcoming book likes to make quiche. I like to make it too, however, I have no one in my house who will eat it. So, I make quiche when I have some sort of social food gathering, such as I had yesterday, at the Ozarks Romance Authors' Christmas party, and I get to indulge with others of like quiche mind. Quiche is a great, versatile dish, lending itself easily to salads and fruit bowls. And, you can put anything in it, whatever you like, and it's still quiche.

So, here goes, here's how I made mine:

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust
1 TBSP butter
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms, and chop them up a bit
3 green onions, slices
3 cups fresh spinach, rinsed and patted dry
3 large eggs
1/2 teas. salt
1/4 teas. pepper
dash red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 shredded smoked Gouda cheese
3/4 cup diced cooked ham

First thing, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unroll your pie crust and press into a pie plate. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork so that it doesn't bubble up when baking. Bake your crust for ten minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 and set crust aside.

Drop butter into a medium skillet and add mushrooms and green onions. Cook for 5 minutes over medium  heat, stirring often. Add spinach, making sure all the water's been pressed out first, and let it heat until the spinach begins to wilt and set aside.

Break eggs into a large bowl, add milk and salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, whisk until well combined. I actually wisk up my eggs just a bit before adding the other ingredients to make sure the yolks are broken and the mixture is yellow before adding the rest in. Add ham, cheeses spinach and mushroom mixture. Stir until well combined.

Pour into pie shell and bake for 50-55 minutes or until center is set.

Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Mange!

Harriet Klausner, of Morrow, Georgia, died October 15, at age 63. She was a former librarian, newspaper columnist, and a lover of books.

Why is the death of Harriet Klausner important, you might ask.

Harriet not only loved books; she reviewed them, and posted 31.014 reviews on Amazon. At one time, she was the #1 ranked reviewer on Amazon. She never gave more than four stars to any book she read. In 2006, Time magazine chose her as person of the year, as one who impacted the information age.

Harriet Klausner represents the way books are read, reviewed and sold today. Harriett Klausner lived an ordinary life as an ordinary wife, mother and working woman. However, she had a passion for the written word, to not only read it, but write about it. Her reviews were coveted by ordinary writers, like you and me.

Today, we look to our peers for reviews and opinions about our books. We no longer scour The New York Times Best Seller List; we don't call up Barnes & Noble and ask them what the big seller is today. No, we turn to the reviews and opinions of ordinary people. People just like us, who love to read and want to read good books. We also hope to receive reviews of our own work from people just like us. People just like us is the new The New York Times Best Seller List.

I think Harriet Klausner did more for book reviews and books sales than any big time newspaper could have done. She supported writing and readers. We should do the same. We may not post a meg-number of reviews but we should make our voices heard regarding our fellow authors' work.

So, salut Harriet, where ever you are. I hope you have an armful of books still.

Springfield Writers' Guild - 22nd Annual Poetry & Prose Contest

Good morning, folks! Time to get your poetry and prose groove on!

Why? Because in just under two weeks, The Springfield Writers' Guild's Annual Poetry & Prose Contest is set to open. Yes, on June 15, at 12:01 am, we will begin taking entries from...YOU.

Please see the guidelines below, Our guidelines can also be found at www.springfieldwritersguild.org. Read the guidelines carefully before submitting your entries. Failure to follow said guidelines could cause your entry to be disqualified, ruining all your hard work.

Springfield Writers’ Guild

22^nd Annual Prose and Poetry Contest

June 15 - September 15, 2015

www.springfieldwritersguild.org/contests

Divisions and Awards

Prose and Poetry Division

Fee $5 per entry. No limit to number of entries, but the same entry may not be entered in more than one category.

Prose: Maximum 1,000 words, double-spaced

Category 1 – Fiction, any genre

Category 2 – Nonfiction, any subject

Category 3 – Humorous

Poetry: Maximum one page, single-spaced

Category 4 – Humorous, any form

Category 5 – Any subject, any form

Awards each category 1-5: First Place $50, Second Place $25, Third Place $15, Two Honorable Mentions

Jim Stone Memorial Poetry Division

Fee $5, one entry per person. Entry must not have been entered in Categories 4 or 5.

Poetry any subject, any form. One page, single spaced.

Awards this division: First Place $150, Second Place $75, Third Place $50, Two Honorable Mentions

Best of Springfield Writers’ Guild Award

SWG members who enter any category automatically will be considered for a $100 award at no additional entry fee and in addition to other awards they may receive. This category judged separately.

Bonus for SWG Members: Submit two entries and receive a special link to submit a third entry free of charge. One free entry per member.

Submission Guidelines

1.      Read these guidelines carefully. Failure to follow the guidelines may disqualify your entry.

2.      Contest period is 12:01 a.m. Central Time, June 15, 2015, to midnight Central Time, September 15, 2015. Entries and fees will be accepted only during the contest period and only at www.Submittable.com; see link at www.springfieldwritersguild.org/contests.html. Payment by debit card, credit card, or PayPal. Each entry must be unpublished, original work of contestant, and entered in only one category. You keep all rights to your entries; entries will not be published.

3.      Double space prose, single space poetry. Title each entry except haiku. A list of your entries will be accessible at www.Submittable.com. Enter the prose word count or poetry form in the box provided. Number prose pages. Do not put your name on entries.

4.      Once an entry is submitted to Submittable, it will not be extracted or exchanged for another entry for any reason. Writers may resubmit another entry accompanied with the $5 fee.

5.      Awards will be presented at the Springfield Writer’s Guild meeting, October 24, 2015, or by mail for those unable to attend. For a list of winning entries and judges, visit www.springfieldwritersguild.org/contests.html after October 24, 2015.

Questions? Contact Contest Chair, Yvonne Erwin: writer716@gmail.com 

New Release! Tierney James, please step forward!

Let me introduce to you, my friend and fellow author, Tierney James, a wonderful, warm person and fine author.

Hello Tierney James. Tell us about you. Give us a glimpse into Tierney James.

Okay, well, I once lived on a Native American Indian Reservation, in mining communities in Northern California and Missouri. I followed a friend to China to help her adopt a baby girl, as well as slept in a tent near the Kalahari Desert in Africa where elephants and hippos sometimes wandered into camp. While I was in college, I sang in a Christian band, performing twice at Great Lakes Naval Base. To this date, I cringe at the cover of the album we made so long ago.

You lived in a mining community for 25 years. Tell us something that might surprise your readers about living near lead mines.

Every day around 3:00 pm, underground charges were set for explosives. If you stood quietly you could hear the pop, pop, pop deep in the earth. There is a huge difference between mining coal and mining lead. Hard rock mining is much safer for working. You aren't dealing with dangerous methane gas like you might find in coal mines. Lead mines are huge and cavernous with a year round temperature of 65 degrees.

Did anyone in particular influence your characters when you started writing The Rescued Heart?

No. Garrett Horton and Fawn Turnbough were combinations of many wonderful people who live in this small Ozark town. Since I lived in the area, I used names that would sound familiar and be authentic to the culture. Some of the places are slices of the real thing. My town of Westfork is large and thriving town. The real Westfork you might not notice if you drove through. Rocky Fork Mine was actually named after a creek on my farm.

In a couple of sentences give just a glimpse of The Rescued Heart.

After returning home to put her life back together, Fawn finds her ruthless father is still trying to outwit her former fiancée, Garrett, the man who drove her away ten years earlier. Garrett seems bent on picking up where he left off with Fawn, the woman he could never forget, Garrett finds himself torn between her hardened heart and the mines who could kill him. Discovering a plot to destroy him and all he holds dear begins to unravel a heart that is in need of one last rescue. Trapped 1000 feet underground, with water rising, means he might never get the chance to make things right with Fawn.

How were you able to write about a mine collapsing in on itself?

Those kind of accidents have happened. It’s not that hard to research and find out about them. It actually happened to another company in the area not long after we moved to Viburnum. Fortunately nothing like that ever happened where my husband worked. Because he was a mine engineer he was able to teach me about explosives, reclaiming pillars safely and the routines of miners. He gave me geology and mining books to read, which honestly were like chewing cardboard. Ha. But I did it anyway. I also took a week long mining workshop sponsored by The Doe Run Company which taught me a great deal.

What would you like readers to know about mining?

“If it can’t be grown it has to be mined.” We were very proud of that saying. The men and women connected to the mine industry learn early on not to take life for granted nor do they worry about tomorrow. Miners are strong, smart and resilient. Mining is very important to our economy and we should support it for a free America.

Was there anything in The Rescued Heart that readers might actually visit in the Ozarks?

One of the events in the book is Old Miner’s Day. The first Saturday of October in Viburnum, Missouri celebrates mining and the people who make it possible. There are mine tours, crafts, a parade, terrific entertainment and of course, wonderful food. Check it out! Beautiful people and a great day of fun.

How can readers get in touch with you?

www.facbook.com/TierneyJamesAction

http://www.ptierneyjames.blogspot.com

Twitter: @TierneyJames1

http://www.pinterest.com/ptierneyjames/

Coming this summer: 

Thank you, Tierney James and best of luck to you on your release this summer! It's been a pleasure having you here. 

Sunday Dinner

Hello friends. It's been a long time since we've cooked together, hasn't it. Since my camera battery is dead but charging, I can't give you a photo of what I cooked today, so hopefully, the photo attached to this post will do.

My next book is rife with food, as with the old book, and so let's get back in the groove and talk about food, real life soul cleansing, heart mending, memory making, love inducing victuals!

Ready?

Okay, so let's heave ourselves out of our armchairs, and hustle to the kitchen and whip up a Sunday dinner. Sunday dinners are important around my house and I try, more Sundays than not, to make sure we gather around the table to share a meal together. Our lives are hectic; everyone's schedule is different during the first six days of the week and many times, we don't see each other until Sunday, therefore, we  have Sunday dinner as often as we can.

Here is what we ate today:

Hamburger-Broccoli Pie

Ingredients and instructions follow:

Double crust pie crust
1 pound ground chuck
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 TBSP flour
1 clove garlic, pressed and chopped
3/4 teas. kosher salt
1 1/4 cup milk
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg, beaten
1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped, without the stems, cooked and drained
Monterey Jack cheese, sliced
red pepper flakes
black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown chuck, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes, drain excess fat. Stir in flour, salt, and some pepper. Add the milk and softened cream cheese, cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Add a moderate amount of meat mixture to beaten egg; return to mixture in skillet. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stir in cooked, drained broccoli. Spoon mixture into pastry-lined pie pan, Slice Monterey Jack cheese and arrange slices on top of meat mixture. Lay top crust over filling, seal, flute edges, Cut slits on top and brush the top with a little milk if desired, then back for 40 to 45 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

I served this with buttered carrots, cooked in chicken stock, salt and pepper. Now, if you want to go farther than broccoli with the green factor, maybe spinach would work in the hamburger pie. That's something to consider for next time, but I think it might work quite well.

But, wait, how about dessert? Never fear. We'll have some. It's Sunday, after all, and Sunday is a day for dessert!

Peach Upside Down Cake

I discovered a can of peach slices in the back of my pantry and I thought about peach upside down cake, similar to pineapple upside down cake but without the traditional pineapple rings and maraschino cherries. I also found some blackberries in the fridge that needed somewhere to go, and so, viola! Peach upside down cake.

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar

Drop this mixture into an  8 x 8 baking pan and shove it in the 350 degree oven to let the butter and brown sugar melt together. In the meantime, in a mixing bowl, beat together the following:

1/4 cup Crisco
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Combine the following in a separate bowl:

1 cup sifted cake flour (or 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour)
1 1/2 teas. baking powder (unless using all purpose flour, then reduce it to 1/2 teas.)
1/2 teas. salt

Add alternately with 1/3 cup milk and 1/2 teas. vanilla to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Pull brown sugar/butter mixture from the oven; alternate peach slices and blackberries on top and pour cake mixture over. Bake about 45 minutes or until done. Remove cake from pan while warm by inverting over serving plate or platter.

Enjoy!

Video Teaser

Take a look at this video teaser, produced by PixelTwister Studios. If you're looking for a small, intimate company to make a book trailer for you, this company is the real deal.

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Give them a call if a book trailer suits your needs.