I always said that I would come back to this blog--& to the wide world of social media in general--when I reached a certain point in my writing endeavors.  Time is a precious commodity & I felt mine should be directed at improving my craft.  The Muse can be a fickle friend, so when stories gestated in mind I wanted to give them my full attention, bringing them into the world & then doing my characters justice.  That resulted in significant gaps in this blog, & my virtual absence in other social media platforms.  

    I believe I made the correct choices.  

    That was my highlight from last year. Highlights from this year are even more exciting...but I'm holding back until I have permission to say more.  Stay tuned.

    Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to a start-of-autumn jaunt eastward to LaCrosse, Wisconsin.  The plan is to hit the tail end of Oktoberfest, & then linger for some exciting activities at this writer's retreat through Creative Pathways.  And go on the ghost tour.  Definitely go on the ghost tour.

     The purpose of Independent Bookstore Day isn't just to remind people that Jeff Bezos is evil to support their local businesses, it also shows just how many stores are still out there!  I confess I was surprised when I looked at the list of shops participating just in the greater Seattle area.  So often we hear about a bookstore closing; if you'd asked me to guess how many remained, I would have estimated around five.  Happily, I would have been waaaaay off--a discovery that inspires me to explore in the name of retail & literary expansion!

     Yesterday I ventured out to Edmonds to visit two bookstores with which I was previously unacquainted.  The town is located a couple cities north of Seattle, easily accessible by freeway.  Most Seattlites discover it when they need to take a ferry across Puget Sound into Kingston.  Then when they realize downtown is full of cute shops & one of the awesomest seasonal farmer's markets, they come back.

If its sounds charming, that's because it is.

    So my first stop was the Edmonds Bookshop, nestled right downtown.  Small, tidy, & consistently reminding people to please use the complimentary hand sanitizer before browsing, it had that "we know how to crowd our shelves without being disorganized" feel.  I found one book on my list, & one book that I used to own, purged in a move, & then regretted no longer owning.  Double success.

"Persuasion" has long been on my want-to-read list, as one of Jane Austen's lesser-known works.  And "The Checklist Manifest" is a great book for anyone wanting to cut down on mistakes in their professional life &/or business.

    Next, I left downtown for the tiny neighborhood of Perrinville.  In a quirky little nest of shops I found the Neverending Bookshop--but first I found a bakery called Mel & Mia's, where I fueled up on tea & chocolate pecan pastry.*  THEN into the bookstore!  As anticipated from the name, it focuses on fiction with an emphasis on the speculative genres.  The layout was airy, but felt dense with treasures.  My friend & I were the only visitors when we first arrived, so I chatted with the owner for quite a spell.  Her name is Annie & I do believe we are kindred spirits.  So rather than dig out my list of potential purchases, I described by current writing project & asked her to recommend a comp book.  

"Cemetery Boys" is a YA novel, & mine is definitely a book for adults, but from what Annie told me they definitely share core themes so I'm excited to read this!  I also bought a bunch of home-made stickers--here's one of them.

    I could have stayed longer, but the shop was soon to close & newcomers waited outside (Annie is wisely limiting the number of shoppers as COVID persists), so I left to allow other people the pleasure of visiting.  That was my Sunday, & it was a day well-spent.  I've already got my next outing planned for the 10-10-10 Bookstore Challenge, & I'm already looking forward to going back to Neverending Bookshop!  So I'd say Independent Bookstore Day is definitely serving its purpose.

*They have a full breakfast & lunch menu, & also serve afternoon tea.  Guess where I'm taking my Mum for Mother's Day?

     That's a very deep & philosophical question, hypothetical querent.  Did I ever really exist?  Do you?  As a cheerfully gullible person I'll just say "yes" to both of those.  But I understand what you mean: a year ago I said I was all-in for this blog once more, only to follow my usual pattern & fall silent.  Sorry about that.

    The explanation is also the same: time is precious, & what extra time I have has been going into my latest writing project.*  I even wrote out very concrete goals for 2021 (with some help from some awesome writing buddies).  Want to help hold me to task?  Here's the goal for the first quarter:

3-Month Goal(s)

Goals I aim to accomplish by March 31, 2021.

Desired Goal: To have a complete first draft of The Specter Street Book Emporium

How to Achieve: Writing for at least an hour a day, at least 5 days a week

What Success Looks Like: A complete manuscript with cohesive plot, beginning, middle, & end

 

Desired Goal: To have at least found resources/contacts to interview for each area where I need research

How to Achieve: Clarifying my research questions, taking initiative to ask

What Success Looks Like: Scheduled interviews on my calendar (or completed)

    Good stuff, right?  Concrete, reasonable, time specific--all the key features of good goal setting.  And I've been keeping to it!  I'd say I'm about 75% of the way done with my first draft.  All the same, I'm unsure whether or not I'll have a completed manuscript within the next 5.5 weeks.  If I do, it will be very, very rough, but I'm Ok with that.  Revision is both something I enjoy & something I do with relative speed.  It's a good thing I have the best writing coach ever snoring right next to me as I type....

Right now she's saying: "Why are you taking pictures of me?  You should be writing!  Or petting my fuzzy head!  Or both!"

*Well...that & watching "WandaVision," but that only gets updated on Fridays!  

     I'm not sure why I can't write a story that doesn't have food in it.  It's like food is a recurring character across all my manuscripts, regardless of setting, plot, or genre.  I'm starting to think my personal paradise would be the Hobbiton Public Library, if such a place existed--nothing like a good novel over second breakfast, after all!

Today, second breakfast will be doughnuts, apparently.

     Sometimes I use food as a way to add depth to a character.  Sometimes I use it as a means of setting a mood for the scene.  But in my current project, it actually plays a pivotal role in uncovering the main character's lost history, & in putting ghosts to rest.  Literally.
     This means cooking will be a part of my literary research!  If I'm going to have my character preparing plot-critical dishes, I'd darn well better know how to make them myself!  It's not enough to go out & find them at a restaurant or bakery (which is a little challenging at the moment, regardless).  I need to know about the ingredients.  I need to hear the sound of my knife against the cutting board.  I need to feel the texture of the dough.  I need to experience the changes in aroma as the recipe progresses, and the satisfaction of eating things freshly made from scratch.
     Have I made you hungry yet?  No?  Well, here's the growing list of what I need to learn to cook for this novel:

   - Kimchi
   - Golabki
   - Pierogi
   - Conchas
   - Pan de Muertos
   - Cookies

     Yes, it's a motley list.  It's a complicated plot.
     "Cookies" I intentionally left vague, because these have to be mind-blowingly delicious cookies, so I anticipate baking several.  They will probably be some variation of chocolate-chip, because chocolate.  If you have an outstanding recipe for chocolate chip cookies you would like to share with me I would be very grateful.
     As I try my hand at these dishes I will document my efforts here, & let you see my glorious mistakes and tasty triumphs as they occur.  In the meantime, I have writing to do...& doughnuts to find.

      Just a quick update to say that I sent in my queries and requested pages to the agents from the PNWA conference.  This last week was all about scrupulously reading their requirements & composing my letters.  Oh yeah, and writing my synopsis.*  We all know how much I love writing a synopsis.  Even after checking & re-checking my work to be sure I was following each agent's guidelines, I got a little more light-headed each time I hit "send."  Once it's sent, it's...sent.  No going back.  No more opportunities to tweak or correct.
      So obviously that called for a cup of tea.  Today it's a spicy chai I let steep for 5 minutes, then stirred in an ounce of bourbon.  Some days just call for that sort of thing.  And after all, today is the first day of autumn--time to celebrate!

Today's beverage and this month's bedtime reading.

      Nerdy stuff coming next week--I'm loving the Captain Marvel trailer and the latest space discoveries!

      Hello world!  I still live!  I hope you forgive my long hiatus--I decided that if I was ever going to have a shot at publishing one of my stories, I needed to eschew ALL my other keyboard-related distractions, and practice the BIC (Butt In Chair) approach to writing.  And it worked!  I finally have a polished final draft of my gas lamp novel, coming in at 90k words.

My cat was very supportive of my BIC approach, as you can see.

      Last week I went to the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's big annual conference & pitched to multiple agents.  I am pleased to report that I got three requests for material, & one referral to another agent who was not at the conference.  The only part more awesome than that was all the seriously cool writers I met!
      Preparing for the conference was pretty draining.  Pitching was an exercise in adrenaline.  Both reminded me of the critical role that tea plays in my life.  Tea was my pick-me-up & inspiration while writing.  After pitching my adrenaline dipped, leaving me light-headed, and tea came to the rescue once again.*  So out of gratitude to the leaf & as a means of easing back into my blog, I thought I'd offer a brief review of the proper way to brew tea.
      Let's start with a definition of "tea."  A lot of people think this includes herbal teas, such as chamomile or mint.  Common vernacular aside, these are NOT teas.  They are tisanes.  They can be delicious, & all you have to do is add hot water & steep to taste.  I like to steep my mint in near boiling water for about 5 minutes, then toss in an ice cube for cooling & dilution.  That's all I'm going to say on the matter.
      There is actually a shrub called a tea tree, & it has a leaf all it's own.  When that leaf is harvested, dried, & then steeped, THAT is tea.  That's what I intend to address, starting with 5 general guidelines, followed by steeping times by variety.

A mature tea shrub.

1) Firstly, if you don't like the taste of your tap water, use distilled water.  It's cheap, & it's all my cat will drink, so I have a jug of it on hand at all times.

2) Proportion is always one generous teaspoon of tea to 8 ounces of water.  A tea bag also wants 8 ounces of hot water.  If you get a grande cup of hot water & toss in one tea bag, thinking you'll just let it steep longer, you've just signed yourself up for a weak, bitter brew.

3) If you're using loose leaf tea instead of bags (lovely when convenient), then have a good strainer.  There's a lot of these on the market.  I prefer metal strainers with a fine mesh & plenty of room for the tea leaves to expand.  Alternatively, brew loosely in a pot, then place the strainer over your cup when you pour.

A *few* of my tea things: pots, cups, strainers, etc. The big mug in the upper left reads "I Drink the Tears of my Enemies."  It's for when I'm feeling feisty!

4) Warm your cup or pot before pouring in the water.  If your vessel is cold, it will suck the heat away from your water, messing with your steeping & leaving you with lukewarm tea (bleah).  Also, in very extreme cases, boiling water added to cold porcelain creates cracks, or even explosions.  So while your water is coming to a boil, just fill your vessel of choice with hot water from the tap & let it sit until you're ready to steep.

5) Teas are graded by the size of the leaves.  A really good, high quality tea will be a full leaf, either rolled up into little balls or dried up into what looks like wrinkled pine needles.  Some teas have leaves broken in half, or into smaller pieces, or even in minuscule flakes like ground black pepper.  And yes, some teas are powdered.  Unless you're very serious about your tea, any of these grades will do--what you want to avoid at all costs is a MIXED grade.  A tea that's a tossed salad of full leaves, broken leaves, & tiny bits will have a bitter flavor.  When buying loose leaf tea, look for consistency among the size & shape of the leaves.

My tea shelf this morning.  I'm running low.  The tupperware in the upper right holds Korean roasted corn tea, a treat introduced to me by my significant other.

Steeping Guide
Over-brewed tea is bitter, so pay attention!

Black Teas
     There are a lot of black teas out there, but the general rule for steeping is the same.  My favorite teas are Lapsang Souchong, Earl Grey, & pure Assam.  Bring your water just to the edge of a boil (NOT a full boil), pour over, & steep for at least three minutes, but not more than five.  Then remove the leaves & either toss them or set them aside for a second steeping.
      Most black teas can be steeped a second time.  Again, bring the water just to the edge of a boil, then pour over the leaves & let steep for two minutes longer than your first steep.  The flavor will be different--more mild, usually--but still satisfying.** 

Oolong Teas
      An oolong is a tea that has been cured longer than a green, but less than a black.  When properly brewed it will have a smoother flavor than a green tea.  My favorite is hands down Iron Goddess, but I've never met a full leaf oolong I didn't like.  As with black tea, bring your water to the edge of a boil, but NOT to a full boil.  Steep for two minutes on the nose.
      Oolongs can be steeped a second, & sometimes even a third time with excellent flavor.  Let brew for three minutes on your second steep, four minutes for the third.

Green Teas
      Lauded as possibly the healthiest form of tea, the flavors can vary greatly depending on the blend.  A straight up gun powder green can be very bright--even grassy tasting.  My favorite is Gen Mai Cha, a Japanese blend that incorporates toasted rice (be wary when selecting, as this often has mixed grade leaves).  Bring your water to a strong simmer, but don't let it bridge over into boiling.  I like to steep for one minute & twenty seconds, to bring out the full flavor of the tea without risking bitterness.  My Significant Other, however, was taught to brew tea by his Korean grandmother, & insists on brewing his for five minutes for a strong, potent brew.  I suggest starting with a minute twenty, tasting, then adding more time if desired.
      Quality green teas can be re-steeped up to four times.  I would add an additional thirty seconds of brew time for the second steeping, & then a full minute or more for the third or fourth steeps.

White Teas
      Using some of the most delicate tea leaves & just drying them to perfection, white tea offers the most ethereal flavor of all.  My favorite here is Silver Cloud, light & sweet!.  For this, bring your water to a simmer, & steep for only 50 seconds.  Taste--if it's too light for you, put the leaves back in for 10 second increments until you have the flavor you like.  Remember, this is SUPPOSED to be a delicate tea.  Over-steeping will become very bitter, very fast.
      White teas can be re-steeped up to four times.  Add only 20 seconds of additional brew time for each steeping.

      There you have it!  Now go forth & brew!  Let me know if you have questions, or tell me about a recent tea you discovered, & whether you enjoyed it or no.


*My first instinct was to go to the hotel bar for a gin & tonic, but then my training as a therapist kicked in, & I remembered that in a few more minutes I was going to feel woozy & tired without the help of intoxicating beverages.  So I went for a cup of earl grey and boy was THAT the right call!

**Second steepings of any tea have almost no caffeine.

      So, have I been true to my post from (over) a month ago, & been writing?  A bit.  Not as much as I would have liked, because June has been insane.  But it's been insane in a very good way.  Specifically, because I've been working towards...

...my first published work!

      Yeah, that's right, check out the authors on that thing!  See the first name?  Notice that it's MINE???  Four Fantastical Ways to Lose Your Fingers is a speculative short story collection compiled by some of the Seattle area's finest, & lucky me, I got in on that action.*
      Four Fantastical Ways to Lose Your Fingers is now available as a Kindle exclusive!  It weaves tales of Seattle superheroes, haunted bookstores, cats who are every bit as supernatural as you've always suspected, & Greek Gods with laser guns.  So guess what?  I recommend you buy the book!  :-D
      *ahem*  Yeah, I am neither versed in the ways of emojis, nor this whole self-promotion/advertising thing.  I'm new at this.  But authors Michael Munz, Tiffany Pitts, & Janine Southard are all pros, & not only are they talented story tellers, they are also really, really nice people who have been both patient & encouraging as I've stumbled through this whole process of turning a story into a published thing.  They came up with the brilliant of idea** of doing a blog tour, in which we answer questions on one another's blogs.  Of course the questions had finger-related themes, & of course mine had to be about food.  Because...you know...food.

It's me!   Or rather, as much of me as I care to show online!

My Answer:
      Tea & graham crackers.  Why?  Because a lot of my stories are set in the Victorian-era (not the one in FFWTLYF, though), & nothing sets the mood like sipping tea from a china cup & nibbling pastry.  But too much pastry is neither good for one's health nor one's budget.  So I compromise with graham crackers, which I can truss up by spreading with peanut butter, or Nutella, or mascarpone with a drizzle of raw honey or pinch of cinnamon.
      Of course, if I was really going all out (& had a significant amount of time to prepare), I might go for a full-on afternoon tea.  For me, this would include freshly baked scones with butter & preserves, some manner of savory, such as a finger sandwich (no, really), fresh fruit, & then a small dessert like a tartlet or brownie.  And don't tell me brownies aren't sophisticated enough for afternoon tea, because they're bloody delicious--especially mine!

Janine's Answer:
I do most of my drafting work in coffee shops. So my food relationship when it comes to writing it:one pasty and one (maybe two) mochas per writing day.

If I've gotten carried away with my work too many days running, I don't even get a real dinner later unless I eat out because I rarely bother to stock my kitchen when my mind is in a fictional world.

During the editing part of the process, though, I get to show off how awesome my spouse is. When I get to the final draft, I'll reach a point where I just want to be done and get through all the notes from the editor. I lie on my couch at home, stabbing the computer keys and vaguely listening to a Pandora station in the background as the sky gets darker and darker. Suddenly a bowl of soup will appear next to me. Homemade. (My SE usually goes for the Chinese Beef Soup with bok chow which you can try here!) You know your spouse loves you when healthy soup magically arrives whenever you're working at your computer. Much <3 to the one I marries.  **waves**

Janine A. Southard once once cut her hand on a mirror liek woah, though she didn't lose a finger that way.  (She did spend a year mostly unable to use her right hand for other medical reasons, thanks to which she now excels at opening doors left handed and taking notes on her phone.) She writes speculative fiction from coffee shops in Seattle, WA. Find Janine on Twitter, Goodreads, and JanineSouthard.com!

Now you just need to pick what to eat while you read!  -Z.D.

*How, you ask?  It's kind of a random story.  I was hanging out with Camela Thompson & one of her fellow authors sent her a text suggesting a collaborative short story project with some of their other writer buds, & Camela was all over that.  In fact, she suggested Ten Fabulous Ways to Lose Your Fingers.  From where I was eavesdropping with a cup of tea on the other side of the table, I said, "Huh, I was just starting a novel with a character missing two fingers."  The wheels started turning. So the next thing I knew, I'd written a short story--something that's usually very hard for me to do.  And wouldn't you know it, THESE OTHER PUBLISHED WRITERS REALLY LIKED IT!

**A real one, not one where accidental amputation ensues.

      If you are serious about being a published fiction writer, you've probably been given the following advice: write short stories.  Try to publish short stories.  Submit short stories to contests.  Agents/editors/publishers are more likely to read your novel manuscript if you've put out some short stories.
      I have no idea whether or not this advice holds water.  Partly because a) I've never read that many short stories, so I don't have a good sense of their popularity, and b) I suck at writing them.

It's funny, because it's true.

      I try.  I really, honestly try.  Every now and again I put out a burst of effort, and I think I may have completed two or three halfway decent stories.  More often, however, I either give up halfway through because THERE IS NO WAY that I will accomplish what I want in under 5000 words, or I do finished it, and realize it's not a short story at all: it's a scene from a novel.
      As I was writing this blog post, it occurred to me that I'm not even sure what qualifies as a short story, so I decided to look it up.  I read eleven different websites and each had a different definition.  Here are the definitions I trust the most:

Flash Fiction = 53 to 1,000 words*
Short Story = 3,500 to 7,500 words
Novelette = 7,500 to 17,000 words
Novella = 17,000 to 40,000 words
Novel = 40,000 words or more

      I was recently presented with an opportunity to write a short story on a very general theme, with almost a promise it would be published in an anthology.  It just so happened I already had an idea that might fit.  So I grabbed my notebook, bought a fruit smoothie, and headed to the lake to enjoy some late summer sunshine and let the creativity flow.  It worked.  My rough draft totaled at just under 6,000 words.  The characters, concept, and language felt pretty solid for a first draft.  I was very pleased with my creativity over-all.
      But...it's not a short story.
      Oh, the length is there, but there's no STORY!  It's a SCENE!  When I read it, I feel like a mildly interested voyeur into a somewhat bizarre, paranormal conversation.  But in terms of a beginning, middle, and end, it is weak sauce.  And I actually finished writing it, got in the shower, and banged my head against the wall in frustration.**

Shove it, Will, you bloody hypocrite.

      So I came up with the following theory: I think my problem is that I let my characters tell the story.  When I write a manuscript for a novel, I have ideas for challenges and circumstances, but then I sit back and let the characters I've created figure out what to do.  I just write down how they would react.  If they don't react the way I want, I either tweak their backstory or I change the impetus so they wind up where I want.  Example: let's say I want a character to burn down a cheese factory, but arson really isn't in keeping with their personality.  I could put a traumatic incident in their childhood involving Gruyere to alter their motivation.  Or, I could have a villain threaten the life of their grandmother if they don't torch the joint.
      But there isn't room for that kind of development in a short story!  With limited space, I just have to tell the reader "Hepzibah's PTSD was so severe, she blacked out at the smell of cheddar," and they just have to take my word for it.  Whereas I look at that sentence, and I think: something that good deserves a whole page--maybe a whole chapter!
      So...I'll never be a great writer.  The Greats always wrote short stories: Austen, London, Bradbury, LeGuin, etc.  Stephen King got his start with short stories.  Just thinking about it bums me out.  I think I'm going to made myself a grilled cheese sandwich and take a shower.  Not at the same time.



*And heaven forbid you should want to write something between 1,000 and 3,500 words, you non-conformist freak!

**Not too hard, though.  Just enough to get my point across.  I like my noggin safe and non-concussed.

      Just in case you've been wondering where I'm at in the grand scheme of writing things, I've actually been doing a lot.  My new daily routine allows for at least a solid hour of writing every morning, while I enjoy my breakfast.  The situation is ideal for me: wake up, make tasty food, eat part while checking email and reading my daily webcomics, and then finish up my tea while working on stories.  I honestly love my mornings.  How many people can say that?

My idea of heaven is to spend a week at a gourmet bed & breakfast with a view of the ocean, and be able to spend my days writing and walking, well-fed in body and soul

      As for WHAT I'm writing...well...that's a different matter.
      Once upon a time, I wrote a gas lamp fantasy manuscript about two demons trying to be human, two women trying to be themselves, a curse, and a conspiracy to bring hell on earth.  I *loved* writing this story.  And it was ridiculously long.  Like, 150k words long.  No way any editor in their right mind would accept a manuscript like that from an unproven author.
      So I did the intelligent thing and divided it into two books.  Now I had two manuscripts, each of the perfect length, and honestly I thought they were both pretty good.  I got some good feedback from beta readers, trimmed some parts, lengthened others, and firmed up the dialogue a bit.  And last year I submitted queries to several different agents.
      I got a few nibbles, but no bites--which isn't a big surprise.  Had logic prevailed, I would have shelved the manuscript for the time being and gone on to work on other projects (how many have I got in the works now? Seven?  Eight?).  But I have this problem: I think this story is the best work I have ever done.  I think the plot, the characters, the world, the language, all of it is seriously solid.  I read other published novels that are in the same genre and I think, "But my story is BETTER than this one!  How'd this get published, and not mine!?"*
      I'm biased, of course.  Not only because it's my work, but because I know it so well I can't be objective anymore.  It's too familiar, so I can't tell where there are holes in the plot, or if important scenes are understated or over-dramatic.  Of course I strive to be thoughtful and intelligent in my approach, but that's not a perfect guide.  In fact, there are times I suspect I'm downright wrong.  Such as my latest idea.
      "Clearly," I thought, "the problem is that the story needs to be a TRILOGY!!!"
      Just writing this makes me want to smack myself on the forehead.

If you ever catch my trying to make this into 4 books, please, please stop me.

      So yeah.  I've spent the last couple months dividing my two novels into three, re-arranging some of the scenes, adding back in some deleted material, and adding new bits to try and create compelling individual story arcs.  Believe me, I am in no way entirely convinced this is a smart move.  But there was no way to know until I'd done it, and once I started, I'm committed.
      I just finished the first draft of book one.  Now I get to tackle book two.  That's going to involve a lot of scene re-arranging.  *sigh*  My plan is to finish a first draft of the trilogy, and then ignore it for a few months while I work on something else.  Then hopefully come back to it with semi-fresh eyes.  And maybe shell out the bucks for a professional editor, because at this point, all my dear, dear friends who volunteer as beta-readers have already gone through at least one version of this thing.
     This is why I write first thing in the morning: creativity flows best before I actually let myself think.


*Not to misconstrue my ego, it should be noted that this is not my reaction to most novels.  Most novels I read with mingled joy, envy, and despair, thinking: "This is so freaking awesome!  I wish I could write like this!  But I don't think I'll ever be able to write like this!  Therefore I will go eat more chocolate, and read the next chapter, instead of doing the dishes!"

      Before we go any further: if Disney was going to re-make one of it's classic fairy-tale animated films with the characters gender swapped, which one would you most want to see???

      Ok, thanks.  I'll explain why I asked at the end of this post.
      Now to business: If you've been an on-going reader of this blog (Hi, Mom!), you may recall that I sent out my second completed manuscript to several literary agents last fall.  I have been tracking the outcomes of this effort on my blog as they slowly unfold.  Yesterday, I received my 27th response (out of 37), and I am taking this as the sign that it's time to call it a wrap.  Here's a summary:
      Out of 37 submissions, I received 24 polite declines.
      I also had 3 agents with enough initial interest to request further materials.
      Ultimately, all three of them turned me down.

It's funny, because it's true.

      Statistically, however, that's a pretty damn good response for an unpublished writer, considering the number of submissions I sent out.  While I certainly would have been ecstatic to go further in the process, I feel content with this outcome, because it means I'm on track with realistic expectations.  It also means I'm doing well with the query process, which is a critical step!  And I still feel solid about my story.  I'll let it rest for a year or so, then give it another read-through to see if I want to tweak anything.  Then I'll give it another go!

But first, I'll sleep on it.

      On a completely different note, this week on Shadows On the Sound Camela and I talked about being women writers trying to create good, strong male heroes.  In other words, how to write Alpha Males and not Alpha Assholes.  Part of that conversation talked about abuse within relationships, and how it builds so slowly and sneakily victims almost never see it coming.  I mentioned an interview on an episode of the amazing radio show, "This American Life" where this experience is explained - simply and eloquently - from a survivor of one such relationship.  I promised I would link to it, and so here it is.  I highly recommend giving it a listen!

      Oh, and the Disney gender-swap is our Weekly Geeky Query, and I am more excited about this question than any we've asked so far!  The more you think about it, the more fascinating each movie becomes!

      I had a dream last night that a literary agent was willing to work with me.  This morning as I made my breakfast, all I could think was: "Please let that be a prophetic dream!  Please let that be a prophetic dream!  Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease let that be a prophetic dream!!!"

      A few days ago I finally finished editing the sequel/second half of the project I am currently pitching.  It took tremendous self-discipline to do this, because the Muse kept poking me in the back of the head with no fewer than four new story ideas!  But I forced myself to merely type out a hasty sketch of those plots, and then dutifully return to my editing.  And somewhere around 11pm on Saturday night, dry eyeballs aching in my sockets, my work was completed.
      "Yes!" I crowed, tossing my laptop onto the chaise.* "Tomorrow, I wake with the freedom to write whatever I want!  Anything, anything I want!"
     Can you guess where this is going?  If you said "writer's block," you're close, but that's not 100% accurate.  It's more like "writer's free fall."  After such a long period of intensive structure, the utter freedom to write anything and everything feels so loose it's almost disorienting.  I imagine it must be similar to getting used to space walking: zero gravity and one could move infinitely in any direction!

Ironically, literally writing in zero gravity is a problem NASA solved a long time ago.

      So while I do have things to write, the writing feels oddly...insubstantive.  Like I want to push off of something, but there's nothing to push, so I'm lacking momentum.  I have absolutely no measurement - internal or external - for whether or not I'm doing "good."  Which should be fine.  It should be better than fine!  For most of my life, writing has been about the joy of stories!  It was only when I got Publish Fever that I started thinking about "good" and "bad."  I want to just write for the love of it...I guess I'm just out of practice.
      So I guess that means I need MORE practice!  Oh, darn!  :-D



*No, I didn't literally toss it.  Yes, I do actually own a chaise.  It would be a very glamorous place to write, except the cat has decided no matter where I sit, I am nothing more than her cushion.

      After a month of editing, querying, and shifting my work schedule to accommodate my employer's holiday festivities, my life is finally ready to go back to sanity normal.  That means blogging twice a week should recommence.  It also meands my regular reading list (blogs, e-comics, books, and manga) should resume.  And it means I am back in the kitchen, Baby!  And I am particularly happy to report that I start my autumn baking with a celebratory sweet.  Why celebratory?  Why, because I have two agents who requested additional materials!!!*  So I busted out this goody that I prepped last month, but never got to bake: Peach Cobbler with Sweet Corn Biscuit Topping.

That's right: individual servings.  Yum.

 And here is the original blog draft I wrote about it, too:

      Summer wanes.  I love the tastes of fall, perhaps best of any season.  And yet...and yet...it can be so hard to let go of the golden sweetness of a high sun and soft grass.  So I created this marvelous treat as a way to embrace two of my favorite summer flavors, and save them for darker, colder times.**  And by that I mean you can make them ahead, freeze them, and then bake them straight out of the freezer whenever you want.  Can you say, convenient?  You're welcome.
      For this recipe, you want peaches that are just shy of being perfectly ripe, meaning still slightly firm, but not rock hard.  For peaches, ripeness means sweetness, and we want these babies sweet!  A little vanilla accents their perfection, and for the biscuit topping we're using fresh summer corn kernels right off the cob, folded into light biscuit dough and kissed with honey.


 Feeling hungry yet?  Good, here's the recipe:

Z.D.'s Peach Cobbler with Sweet Corn Biscuit Topping
makes 4 individual cobblers

Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing
4 C peach slices, about 1/2 inch wide, from about 8 medium peaches
1 T vanilla sugar (regular white sugar is Ok)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 T tapioca flour
Pinch kosher salt
1 medium ear fresh corn (I like sweet yellow bi-color)
1 T honey (preferably summer harvest raw honey)
1/4 C cold milk
1/3 C AP flour
2/3 C yellow cornmeal (regular/fine grind)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
3 T unsalted butter, cold, cubed


Directions:
 - Grease the insides of four 1 Cup ramekins, and set aside.  In a large bowl, toss the peaches, sugar, extract, nutmeg, tapioca flour, and kosher salt until just combined.  Set aside.

The most important thing when baking with fruit is to make sure your pieces/slices are very close to the same size.  This ensures even baking!

 - Husk and clean the corn.  Using a sharp knife, cut along the cob as close as possible, removing the kernels.  Reserve kernels, discard the cob. (NOTE: you could substitute frozen corn kernals, but they will lose some of their pop in the baking process.  Go ahead and get fresh/local corn.)

 - In a small bowl, whisk together the honey and milk.  Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Using your fingers, quickly cut in the butter, until you have pieces ranging in size from oat flakes to sand.

 - With a fork, give a quick stir to your milk mixture, and pour it into the cornmeal mixture.  Toss with the fork just a few times, then add in the corn kernels.  Gently toss and fold with the fork just until all ingredients come together.

This will come together to make a marvelously tender dough.  Handle it minimally to ensure it stays tender through freezing and baking!

 - Divide the peaches evenly among the ramekins.  Using your hands, quickly divide the corn dough into four equal pieces.  Pat each into a round biscuit just large enough to fit inside the ramekin, top the peaches, and set aside.

I love it when food is pretty.

If you wish to bake immediately...
 - Pre-heat your oven to 400 º F.  Place the ramekins in the middle of the oven, and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until the biscuit is golden brown and the peaches are bubbling around the edges.  Let cool a minimum of 10 minutes before serving.  Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream, or the best vanilla ice cream you can find.

If you wish to save for another day...
 - Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil.  Freeze for up to 4 months.
 - When ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 400º F. Remove the foil and plastic wrap from the frozen cobbler, and place directly into the hot oven--DO NOT THAW!  Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, until the biscuit is golden brown and the peaches are bubbling around the edges.  Let cool a minimum of 10 minutes before serving.  Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream, or the best vanilla ice cream you can find.

      Or, serve with bacon and earl grey tea for breakfast.  I'm just saying.


*I am extravagantly happy about this.  Keep track of my publishing escapades on this page of my blog.

**Or celebrating.  Did I mention I'm extravagantly happy about these two agents?!?!