Tag Archives: first book

February 22, 2012 · 9:37 am

Wednesday Brunch with Jami Gray

I spent the day in Santa Fe yesterday, unfortunately most of it trying to find the right county government building.  Sigh.  So no cookies but we’re having Chile Relleno with eggs for brunch, and I’ve picked up some (virtual) Sopapilla for Jami.  Sopas are a light dough that puffs up into a pillow when fried.  Yummm.  Not for Mona, but amazingly the Relleno are since they are green chilies stuffed with a bit of cheese and dipped into a whipped egg batter.  What could be more carb friendly?

So, on to our guest today.  Jami is a fellow Black Opal Books author.  Her tag line  is:  “Urban Fantasy where even the monsters fear what hides in the shadows. Come find me if you dare.”  Dang, wish I’d come up with something that catchy!  Her first book is Shadow’s Edge–more on that later, right now we’re going to hear about Jami’s furry third child.  No, not what you were thinking!

The Canine Equation

by Jami Gray 

(Enter small tornado) Okay, Mona, fair warning, you know I don’t cook unless it involves pushing buttons on a microwave or a phone so no nifty recipe from me, however some hot chocolate spiced with jalapeño wouldn’t be out of place.

(Big sigh as takes seat) Before others can ask, yes, I’m from down where the sun dries everything out to jerky and anything over 115 degrees is just hot, dry heat or not!  No, not hell, people, Arizona! (shaking head)

So the other day I went out into that big black hole of chaos known as Twitter, and fell into a discussion on dog purchasing.  This particular individual was considering an Irish Wolfhound.  Her other half was aiming for a Lab.  I told her to stick to her guns and go for the Wolfhound, but if she lost, she’d love having a Lab.  I can say that because I am the proud owner of an aqua phobic, floor supporting, 110 pound ball of loving devotion known as the Hellhound that moonlights as a Lab.

Long, long ago before the knight in slightly muddy armor and I were blessed with the Prankster Duo, we discussed our canine options.  He was all for a Rottweiler and I was leaning more towards the Irish Wolfhound camp.   Since neither of us were giving in, we tabled the conversation.

When the younger half of the Duo was about five, and the older one six, we decided it was time to add a four legged, tail wagging component to our family equation.  The knight had a co-worker who was looking for new homes for her last litter of AKC labs.  He brought home a picture of the group—two boys, three girls—ranging from the sun touched yellow to this beautiful cinnamon color.

We gathered the Duo and headed over to check out the last two pups—one girl, one boy.  Up till that point, the Duo were understandably cautious around dogs.  Let’s be honest, anything that can stand taller than you and cover your face in one wet swipe was not something you want to mess with.

On the journey over, we had a discussion about our hopefully soon-to-be addition.  The boys already had a name picked out—Stitch.  Didn’t matter if we went boy or girl, the name was a chosen and there was no wiggle room.   Upon arrival, we found out the girl had already chosen her new family so we met the last boy of the group.

It took, maybe, twenty seconds and not only was I head over heels in love, so was my Duo.  So enamored of the furball, I failed to take in the size of small dinner plate paws attached to the sweet, dorky tail wagging, kiss monster that would be coming home with us.  Arrangements were made and we had our newest family member.  Of course the Duo had one complaint at the time, they couldn’t understand why Stitch wasn’t blue.  (Yep, Disney had plastered the Lilo & Stitch movies everywhere!)

It’s been 7 ½ years since the hellhound came home and I can’t imagine what our family would be like without him.  Beyond the body checks that may mean certain paralyzing falls, he is a champion floor holder (the floors never even consider moving when he’s got them covered) and he’s the best foot warmer ever!  Plus, even though he and our pool tend not to see eye to eye, he has no problems providing life guard services when the boys are out swimming.  Even though he doesn’t trip up the stairs like he used to, he still manages to come up every night, stuffed paté in mouth (it’s not a real duck, promise!) and lay guard while we sleep.  The Prankster Duo has grown along side the Hellhound until he’s become our third furry son.  Every morning I’m reminded of why I’m so grateful the knight and I agreed to the canine addition.  I’m a firm believer that pets make you laugh more, love deeper, and show you the true meaning of selfless love.  Even if they aren’t blue!

Shadow’s Edge: Book 1 of the Kyn Kronicles is out now and Shadow’s Soul: Book 2 of the Kyn Kronicles hits shelves Summer 2012.

Website: www.JamiGray.com

Buy Link: www.BlackOpalBooks.com

Blogs: www.JamiGray.wordpress.com or www.7EvilDwarves.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jamigray.author

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JamiGrayAuthor

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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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January 14, 2012 · 12:33 pm

They Call it Respite

I can’t believe how long it has been since the last post. Might have to do some extras to catch up since so much has happened. Let’s talk about respite, a term used in hospice care to identify a relief period for the caretaker, when the patient is moved to a facility.
In December, Tom was advanced enough to handle a short trip, and I needed to go to a meeting in Florida. Hospice care chose the best facility with an open bed, and he was moved there on Monday so I could fly out on Tuesday, spend time visiting with my father and youngest brother on Wednesday, then go to work on Thursday and Friday.
While he was at this facility, our expectation was he would be assisted in the actions that take two people, and since he was in the care of trained professionals instead of a harried writer, his care would be better than he had at home.
Well, yeah. Ahem. Let’s just say he now appreciates home care much more than he did before, and we’ll leave it at that.
Skilled Nursing Facilities, nursing homes, elderly care–whatever you want to call it–are necessary. But I wonder how many people realize what it’s like to spend the end of your days in the care of strangers, at the mercy of an overworked staff? It might behoove those who have never been to a SNF to check them out some times. I’m sure some are better than others, and as I said they are necessary when there is no family available to tend to the elderly. Communes have pretty much gone out of style and our lives have become too hectic to be burdened by elder care.
So Tom came home the next Saturday, slept like a stone the first few days, and was most grateful for his morning cup of cocoa. The time away hadn’t lost too much momentum in healing, but we’ll come up with something else next time I need to go away.
In the meantime, Lex Valentine did a fabulous trailer for My Killer My Love, introducing me to a new favorite band, Chickenfoot. Black Opal Books has picked up my short contemporary romance (working title Teach Me To Forget), and we’ve had our first snow of the year. So there’s a lot more to share.
Trailer for My Killer My Love

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November 11, 2011 · 9:38 am

Life: the Good, the Bad, the Wonderful

Three weeks ago today, hospice care delivered a hospital bed to our living room, and life as we knew changed dramatically. The acute care hospital doctors had advised there just wasn’t anything else to do with Tom but “make him comfortable,” since he just didn’t have that much longer. He couldn’t swallow safely, they said. He couldn’t digest food, they said, so he couldn’t take in enough nourishment to heal beyond what he’d already accomplished. Even if he could digest, his appetite was non existent. Besides, they said, survival for a Whipple procedure is abysmally low.
So he came home, where he could look out at the high plains and eat “whatever he wanted” for as long as he had left. He immediately started to eat very small amounts of egg custard, fruit, and non gluten foods, and I accepted whatever time was blessed to us. Except the anticipated two weeks went by quickly, and he was eating more of those small meals. A few blackberries or strawberries. Half of a non gluten toaster waffle. We found out he couldn’t deal with dry food (such as a biscuit) and his digestion wasn’t processing much meat.
Because his digestion was processing. The canned liquid poured into his feeding tube had gone straight through him, do not pass go, do not collect those $200.00. My suspicions of an allergy were dismissed, since this was the most digestible food available.
Yeah, right.
This morning when I asked if he wanted blueberry pancakes (thanks Bisquick for the non gluten baking mix,) he didn’t just say “Yeah, okay.” Instead, after far too long with no appetite, he started to fantasize about pancakes with lots of butter and syrup. Which he got, though the syrup is an agave/maple blend. And he ate most of a small pancake with gusto.
The processing continues now at a regular rate. I know it seems odd to be excited by the end result of digestion, maybe you have to be a nurse or a dog breeder to get really excited about quantity, consistency and color. But anyone who has not processed a meal correctly knows the colon rules.
Today I’m putting a pen in his hand and giving him a pad of newsprint so he can start drawing exercises. If he’s going to heal, he’s going to draw again. In the meantime, in between meals and clean ups and shifting dogs around, it’s NaNo–National Novel Writing, where writers around the world put rear in chair and fingers on the keys to pound out at least 50,000 words of an original novel. I’m working on a book related to the one I just signed a contract for.

Tom's t-shirt design for 2003

Yep, in the midst of chaos, I managed to polish up a second manuscript, and Black Opal wants to publish it.
If you don’t hear much from me for the rest of November, I’m working on my book, or cooking something else that makes Tom happy. Or maybe putting in a few hours with my wonderfully patient employer. Life isn’t perfect, but it is wonderful.

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July 27, 2011 · 8:07 pm

It’s all about timing

This is a somewhat self indulgent post, maybe because I’m working on a rather nice New Mexico red.  Or maybe because I’m seeing that light at the end of the very long, very dark tunnel

Last Friday the husband started to come back to life and respond to the world around him.  He’s still got that long road ahead, but he’s starting to take more steps forward than back. Unfortunately he can be impatient.  Last night he fell out of bed, I think trying to get home.  Oops.  No harm done but he’s just not the patient sort of patient.

I’m not exactly patient myself and I was SO glad to hear from my wonderful editor at Black Opal Books that My Killer My Love will be releasing in paperback a whole month early.  Right now the link says September 10, but I’m assured it will be August 10.  http://blackopalbooks.com/index.php/en/component/content/article/21

I’d like to think the timetable for healing would also be moved up but more likely he’ll be pushed down the road to an intensive rehab by then, and maybe be home by September.  We can dream, can’t we?

In the meantime it’s definitely time to stop lolly gagging around and get back to work on editing the story of a young woman who has to learn how to trust after her childhood was ruined.  Working title is “Teach Me to Forget.”  So I’ll be blogging about the husband and hospitals, and also about books and writing.  We all need our relief valves.

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July 24, 2011 · 6:12 pm

A LONG Road

Pre surgery, a good doctor will go over every step of what’s going to happen.  They’ll lay out the statistics on the surgery, give you a prognosis based on your specific condition and they’ll explain, generally with illustrations, what they’re going to do while inside your body.  After the surgery, they’ll let your “people” know how the surgery went, and what to expect in the next few days.

We had this information from my husband’s surgeon.  He gave us the statistics (grim) and the prognosis (guarded).  After surgery, he gave us his report (semi positive).  The anesthesiologist said we still had a long road ahead of us.  What an understatement that was!

Depending on the severity of a surgery, the body must recover not only from the insult of being cut open and sewn back together, but also from the drugs used to sedate during surgery.  Long term bed rest compounds this insult.  And any stay in ICU on a respirator requires even more sedation.  At some point, your body and your mind will say ENOUGH and will try to shut down for recovery.

This is where good nursing is so critical, and where those sitting bedside must be ever vigilant.  Nurses and doctors have great education but they have multiple patients.  You the relative, the caregiver, the one most worried, have ONE patient.  It’s up to YOU to remind them about potential blocked catheters, what certain gestures mean, and in some cases what sort of surgery was performed.  It’s also up to YOU to reach out to the patient, even if they seem to be shutting themselves off from you.  Rub their feet, stroke their hands, and talk about nonsense, just to give them something for their minds to connect to. It never hurts to bring in cookies for the staff.

If you do feel there is a problem with care, speak up.  If Physical Therapy was scheduled for the day before, did it happen?  If the patient is supposed to use breathing implements, has that happened as scheduled whether you’re in the room or not?  Is everything as clean as it should be and if tests are being done, WHAT are the tests, and WHAT were the results.  If you feel no progress is being made, ask why.  You might not like the answers but far better to know than to wonder.

A good hospital will let you know when they feel it’s time to pass the patient on to another facility where they can get different care.  Sometimes the care is more intense, sometimes its just another step along that long long road to recovery.  After severe surgeries, such as the Whipple, there can be a longer than usual stay in the surgical hospital, then more time in a rehab center where the patient gains strength.  Sometimes the move is more lateral, to an acute care facility where more attention can be given to recovery.

All of this sounds kind of clinical and distant – I wanted to get information out without getting too emotional.  The husband wasn’t recovering in his surgical hospital, I did go to the nurse, the case manager, to the floor doctor, and ask WHY???  We all agreed he would do better in what is called LTAC – Long Term Acute Care.  A smaller hospital, where they are aggressive about getting patients well, and have the staff to get the job done.  I also needed a facility where the staff had the time to communicate.

The move was made earlier this month.  It hasn’t been a stroll through the garden, more like climbing a mountain in the rain.  Hauling up over craggy rocks, sliding back from time to time.  We celebrated our 24th anniversary on one of his worst days.  Then the next day his eyes were clear and he was not only answering questions but initiating conversations.  For the first time he was able to see the proof copy of My Killer My Love.  He went into the hospital about the time it was released digitally (May 22) and with the help of a great hospital staff and a lot of work on his part, will be home before it releases in hard copy (September 10).   I’ve found a great buy on some large frames for his next watercolors.  We have a lot of life still to live.

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