Tag Archives: Coffee

February 15, 2012 · 10:17 am

Wednesday Brunch with Liv Rancourt (Amy Caldwell)

I had hoped to have low carb meringues this morning, found a great recipe. Unfortunately when they say “put in a 350F oven, turn off, and leave overnight,” they don’t mean a counter top convection oven. I tossed out a gooey mess this morning. Sigh. It didn’t help that we had another snow, so the humidity was up.
We’re going to have hot cocoa today, made with heavy cream (low carb!), cocoa powder, with a dash of cinnamon and chili powder. Since the roads aren’t passable this morning I’ll splash some Lady Godiva into Amy’s mug, while she tells us about fitting life into her writing schedule. BTW the portrait and book cover artwork is by Amy’s sister, Liza Rancourt-Fennimore.

Juggling…
Once a friend asked me what was on my schedule for the weekend and I gave her the(rather long) list. When I was done, she said, “I see that you’ve got a typically Caldwellian weekend planned” (Caldwell being my married name). Turns out she coined a phrase, and ever since, when things are, well, normally busy, we refer to it as a Caldwellian day.
And since I’ve got two kids in middle school, things are often in a Caldwellian state. The kids go to different schools, ergo different schedules and vacation days. One plays soccer but the other changes sports with every season, which means navigating shifting practice schedules. They both study instruments and my daughter sings in a choir. Weekends are taken up with games and friends and you name it. Oh, and did I mention I work full time? And I’m a writer.
It’s that last thing that’s taking an increasingly large bite out of my schedule, especially with the release last month of my first book, A Vampire’s Deadly Delight. Now, when I’m not working or driving to lessons or practices, I’m at the laptop working on blog posts or one of the short stories I’ve got in the hopper or maybe the novel I’ve got cooking. My family is amazingly patient and supportive with all of this. Which is a good thing, because you’ll notice I haven’t yet mentioned housework. I’m not doing a whole lot of that kind of thing – too busy – and they’ve been very tolerant of our increasingly chaotic surroundings.
I haven’t mentioned cooking yet, either, except in terms of my novel. I’m more of a microwave goddess even when I do have a lot of time, but lately even that’s been a challenge. Fortunately, my husband does like to cook, and we’ve got the local pizza boys on speed-dial. There are times, though, that it falls to me, and when necessary, I go to http://www.allrecipes.com. I’ve had really good luck finding ideas for fast, easy, and yummy dinners. And easy. Did I say easy? Because that’s key if something’s going to survive the Caldwellian surge.
One recipe I came up with recently was for Salsa Chicken. You basically toss chicken breast in some taco seasoning, put them in a pan, dump salsa over top of them and bake. When they’re done, you put some sour cream and chopped avocado on them and you’re golden. Ready to go. Even I can do that. And it’s SO good. The kids have asked for it more than once. Here’s a link to the actual recipe, in case my description is too sketchy… http://allrecipes.com/recipe/salsa-chicken/detail.aspx
So the next time you’ve got a Caldwellian schedule going on, remember the Salsa Chicken recipe, and know too that your family may well be more flexible than you give them credit for. As long as the health inspector doesn’t show up, you’re probably fine.
Peace, Liv

Amy, thanks for stopping by
You can find A Vampire’s Deadly Delight at:

Black Opal Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

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February 8, 2012 · 9:46 am

Wednesday Meet an Author Brunch with Scotch Shortbread and Bev Irwin

The traditional Scotch Shortbread was made with oat flour, which was much more available in Scotland, along with wonderful rich butter and a relatively small amount of sugar. My most successful shortbread has been made with Plugra, a super rich sweet butter (2 cups), oat flour (3 cups), and Turbinado sugar (one cup.) MIx together, press in a pan, bake at 300 degrees for about half an hour.

Since at the moment sugar and flour are on my no-no list, I can only imagine them with fondness, while we prepare for our brunch with Bev Irwin, YA author from Black Opal Books.  Bev is going to talk about what motivates her.

 

Hello, everyone. I hope you are all comfortable with a nice cup of coffee, or a hot pot of tea for all the tea totlers out there. We have Tim Horton’s here in Canada and I love their French Vanilla Capachino. So I’ll just grab a cup of that and sit back and tell you what inspires me to write.

The muse started visiting me when I was a young child. I liked to write poetry about flowers and nature. I had a poem published about daffodils when I was in grade three. I still love flowers and nature.

And that is why I love my property. I live on a lovely ravine lot in London, Ontario. I have a piece of the country right in the city.

My home is a hundred-year-old farm house, very plain, no character, but it is surrounded by trees. It was added to as the original owners enlarged their family. It even has a well in the basement, and four drains that run somewhere into the property. Not great with all the rain we had last year. My basement flooded four times. Luckily its too low to put a ceiling in so it’s never been finished. Only my craft materials, wool and some old furniture got damaged.

Imagine coming home and finding water up to the bottom step and the kitty litter boxes floating. Too bad my rubber boots were floating along with them. That water was COLD. No wonder my poor cat was meowing. He got stuck down there and he hasn’t graduated his swimming lessons yet.

To say the least, me and the cat are really (not!) looking forward to spring this year. At least we haven’t had a lot of snow this winter so we shouldn’t be having the big thaw we had last year. We’re praying the basement flooding will keep to a minimum.

But despite the basement flooding, I love this place. In the winter, when all the trees are bare, I can look out my bedroom window and see the pond at the bottom of the ravine.

I love water. Being a Scorpio, I come by my affinity for it naturally. So if I want inspiration, I sit on my deck and look at all the trees, flowers and flowering bushes in my backyard. I have a bar table where I sit with my papers, books, and laptop scattered around me. If I need more inspiration, I take my dog for a walk in the woods and along the water.

Where do you find your inspiration?

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February 7, 2012 · 9:12 pm

Getting Ready For The Tomorrow, and the Rest Of My Life

As in today is the first day of the rest of our lives. Slowly moving onward. The bed and other equipment left on Monday, and the living room furniture is rearranged to something different. I’m looking at paint swatches and deciding which walls will be my canvas. Maybe I’ll just paint squares of different colors instead of making a decision.
In the meantime, tomorrow is Wednesday, meet a new author day. Bev Irwin, a fellow Black Opal Books author, will be with us.
Bev tells me she prefers French Vanilla Cappuccino from Tim Horton’s as her beverage. Hmmm, new one on me, isn’t Horton’s in Canada? Since we’re in New Mexico, I wonder if she’ll like Mona’s Mocha with a dash of Cinnamon Schnapps? Cocoa has been paired with chilies for a long time, and this is my girlie drink of choice, when I’m not dieting.
Since I am dieting, I’ll be drinking decaf, or green tea, or water, and I’ll have made the muffin that makes low carb possible for me. It’s called Muffin in a Minute, net carbs balance out, and it’s great with eggs.

MIM = Muffin in a Minute.

1t butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/4c flaxmeal
1 packet Splenda
1/2t cinnamon
1/2t baking powder

Mix together in a mug, microwave for 1 minute, voila! If it’s not quite done in a minute, continue in 20-30 second increments. You can then slice and toast. I’ve never added the Splenda or cinnamon, but I do drop in a pinch of cheese or some seasoned salt.
I think I’ll surprise Bev with some virtual Scotch shortbread. Quick, easy, and yummy. I’ll post that recipe tomorrow with Bev’s blog. In the meantime it’s back to the computer to work on the next book. Not a paranormal this time, but that paranormal is starting to knock at the door.

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February 1, 2012 · 9:58 am

Wednesday Brunch

You are all invited to a virtual brunch, to meet with authors you might never hear about. Today’s nosh will be store bought but next week we’ll have more time to plan, and I can post the recipe on Tuesdays. For now it will be carb free, but I can promise a LOT of yummy flavors.

Our guest this week is mystery writer Ryder Islington, who will be sharing her story of growing up writing, and the support she had from her wonderful husband. I forgot to ask if she wants coffee or tea, so we’ll be sipping hot cocoa today. Enjoy! Mona


The Creation Of A Mystery Writer

Doesn’t just make you crazy when a child get a case of the ‘whys’? It’s just one question after the other. I wasn’t allowed to do that as a child, at least not out loud. But I did crave knowledge and saw everything as a mystery.

Alas, life took its time teaching me that I could be a writer. And then it took some more time to teach me I could solve mysteries. Putting the two together took a lot more than just knowledge.

As a child, I loved to write and draw, but by the time I was a teen, there had been too much loss. I was brainwashed into believing I would never be anything, that I would never do anything. I had given up all those fanciful dreams and resigned myself to the perpetual cycle of marriage and children and staying home, powerless and unhappy.

Then I met someone who heard me speak a dream out loud. He drove me to the local college and walked me in to register. I was shaking in my boots, giving every excuse there could be for why this wouldn’t work. But he patiently led me to financial aid and to the counselor’s office.

I couldn’t believe it. They were going to find out I was just a poor, dumb girl and kick me out. That first quarter, I took English 101, where I was required to write essays and short stories. I took all of the classes they’d let me take in one quarter. I loved learning. And when that first report card came and I got straight A’s, landing on the Dean’s list, I was totally shocked. I actually had a brain! I devoured knowledge, but my imagination had gotten lost. I used the knowledge in the real world, going on to the University, and law school, and into law enforcement.

Years passed during which I learned forensics, and met every kind of criminal. When I left the department for a job that was a lot easier on my body, I found that there were times when I had nothing to do. By this time I had met a woman who became my best friend. She was a reader and reminded me of how much I loved to read and write as a kid. She and I started our own book club, and my imagination was ignited.

A month later I told my husband (that wonderful man who took me to college) that if I had a laptop, I thought maybe I could write. That week a man walked into the office where I worked and said he had a used laptop for sale. As soon as my hubby heard about it, he pulled out his savings and gave it to me.

It took another four years before I put the obvious together. I had an education and experience in criminal justice, yet I tried to write everything but. When I stumbled onto the idea of actually writing what I really knew, it was like one of Oprah’s light bulb moments. Hey, I never said I was smart.

My debut novel, Ultimate Justice, A Trey Fontaine Mystery, took me a few years. Now I’m working on book two in the series, and my imagination has gone wild.
Now that I’ve found my place, I’ve learned so much about the art of writing, that I feel I can write in other genres and do well. All those stories I’ve held back on, I can now give voice to. Of course, they will have to wait until I get the Trey Fontaine Mysteries up and running. But stay tuned. Other authors learn to write two books a year, or more, and in different genres. I just have to get my process streamlined and then I’ll be ready to tackle those characters running around in my head. At least I hope they’re just characters.

Ultimate Justice, A Trey Fontaine Mystery is receiving rave reviews from readers. http://www.ll-publications.com/ultimatejustice.html

The small town of Raven Bayou, Louisiana explodes as old money meets racial tension, and tortured children turn the table on abusive men. FBI Special Agent Trey Fontaine returns home to find the town turned upside down with mutilated bodies. Working with local homicide detectives, Trey is determined to get to the truth. A believer in empirical evidence, Trey ignores his instincts until he stares into the face of the impossible, and has to choose between what he wants to believe and the ugly truth.

A graduate of the University of California and former officer for a large sheriff’s department, RYDER ISLINGTON is now retired and doing what she loves: reading, writing, and gardening. She lives in Louisiana with her family, including a very large English Chocolate Lab, a very small Chinese pug, and a houseful of demanding cats. She can be contacted at RyderIslington@yahoo.com or visit her blog at http://ryderislington.wordpress.com

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