Cozy Conversations

Welcome back to the Spellroom, my friends. We have a visitor that will entice you with her cozy way around a mystery. So sit back with a nice cup of tea, or coffee if you prefer, and allow me to introduce you to J. M. Griffin. She also brought along her favorite Empanada Dough Recipe to share. So we are in for some yummy treats.

Thank you for being here today, JM.

JM: Thank you for inviting me into the Spellroom, Liberty.

Liberty: When did you start writing?

JM: I began writing about 10 years ago. I wrote romantic suspense but was rotten where the romance thing came in. I then started writing cozy mysteries and realized that’s where I belonged. It’s been onward and upward ever since. I adore cozy mystery novels (and most mysteries in general except the gory ones). Agatha Christie is a fave of mine and as a kid, I read every Nancy Drew mystery I could get my hands on.

Liberty: Great choices. I love Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. You are very prolific. How long does it take you to write a book?

JM: How long does it take ME to write a book? Well, that depends, really. If I stay at it, I can knock out a story in about two months, if I pay attention, that is. If I get sidetracked (which usually happens), then it can be anywhere from 6 months to a year. Life often gets in the way of creativity, and that’s all there is to it. 

Liberty:  Who are some of your favorite authors to read, and why?

JM:  Favorite authors? Let’s see, I enjoy Karen Marie Moning, Karen Frisch, Maeve Christopher, Liberty Blake (oh, that would be you, huh?), and Janet Evanovich. When I want a belly laugh, I read Janet E., Karen Marie Moning has a great set of Mackayla Lane novels that I’ve read about 3 times (and find I’ve missed something each time);Karen Frisch has the most interesting way of presenting life in early Boston and historic England, that I find she’s a pleasure to read. Liberty…well, when I want hot, I go directly there and then to Maeve. Maeve’s family saga is a tremendous set of stories that are tough, warm, funny, and dangerous.

Liberty: Wow! I am honored to be included in that list. Thank you.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

JM: When I’m not writing, I try to get some gardening done. The flower beds are frightful at the moment. Then there’s my art studio which is in need of a visit, too. Painting and illustrating are two of my favorites, so it’s safe to say I’m creatively insane.

Liberty: I've seen some of your art work. You have a wonderful sense of whimsy. You are enormously talented.

JM: Thank you.

Liberty: Who is your favorite athlete, and why?

JM: I don’t have a favorite athlete in the game sense of the word, such as football, hockey or such. I do have a favorite race car driver, though. As an avid Nascar fan, driver Tony Stewart tops my list followed by Denny Hamlin. Why? You ask? Because I love fast cars and daring drivers. Nascar has both of those.

Liberty: Tell us a little bit about your main characters and what makes them so special?

JM: My main character in the newest novel of the Sarah McDougall series, is Sarah. She’s an illustrator with unwanted psychic ability and a new found ability that she calls ghost-walking. She realizes she’s not just visualizing what happens, but is there as a vision. She has inherited ghost-walking from her Scottish grandmother, which comes as a total surprise. What makes Sarah so special is her ability to read a situation, makes sense of it before others do and take from it what she must in order to solve the mystery. 

Raven DeVille, her handsome swashbuckling look-like a pirate neighbor, is an insurance fraud detective. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy who is mystified by Sarah and in love with her at the same time. When his aunt goes missing, he is at his wits end and requests Sarah’s help to find her. They get up to no good, discover who is a real pirate and who the kidnappers are. The Cadence Caper is an easy, fun read that takes place in Sarasota, on Florida’s west coast.

Liberty: If you could cast the movie of your book, who would you want to play the hero and heroine?

JM: Casting the book for a movie is every author’s dream. Raven would be played by Clive Owen or Jon Hamm (from Mad Men). Sandra Bullock would be my choice for the actress who’d play Sarah’s character. Sandra can pull off the most hilarious scenes and make them look easy.

Liberty: I hope you have a blurb for us from your latest release.

JM: Yes, I did. This is for The Cadence Caper.

Blurb:

Life had been quiet for Sarah McDougall. That is, until she envisions an elderly woman’s abduction. Confused over the unwelcome and distressing images of a woman she’s never met, Sarah soon gets a plea for help from her friend and lover, Raven DeVille. His aunt has been kidnapped by treasure hunters. When there’s no ransom demand for the return of Raven’s aunt, Sarah experiences more psychic episodes where she sees and is seen while she ghost-walks into danger. Things take a sudden and unexpected turn for the worse as Sarah struggles to get the hang of ghost-walking and all it entails. She could end up trapped by her own abilities if she’s not careful, and Raven can’t help her should that happen. In her own way and with her strength of character and will, Sarah takes on the deadliest group she’s yet to meet while trying desperately to save Raven’s aunt.

Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/bmx3fby

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-on-spyglass-lane-jm-griffin/1108034532?ean=2940016443294&isbn=2940016443294

JM's website: www.JMGriffin.co

Liberty: The Cadence Caper sounds wonderful. I can't wait to read it. I adored Sarah McDougall in Murder on Spyglass Lane.  Now for the recipe . . .

Empanada Dough Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes        Cook Time: 1 hour    Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

·         3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 cup cold water

·         1 egg

·         1 egg white

·         1 teaspoon vinegar

·         3 tablespoons shortening

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.

3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.

6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to rest.

7. Roll dough flat and cut pie shaped circles. Fill ½ of circle with cooked meats or cold cuts, fold empty half over filling, pinch edges together and bake.

Large Pies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Also spray each pie. Bake for about 25 minutes, until center is hot. Pies will turn a light golden brown.
Mini Pies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare and bake as above, for 20-25 minutes.

Tip: If you want to keep the dough longer than 24 hours, you can freeze it.

Servings: Makes approximately 10 six-inch empanadas.

MMM, Yummy!

Liberty: Thank you for visiting with us, JM. I hope you will come back again soon.

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How to Present Your Book in the Marketplace

Last night I had a long conversation with my ex-stepdaughter. Last year she moved to another state and her life there is good, but her business has been hurt by the move. She told me she wishes I lived nearby to help her promote her business.

It's the kind of business that needs personal face-to-face endorsements. Emails just won't cut it.

There are many small businesses that need that kind of personal touch. It would be nice if we could go to each book store and explain to the owners, over tea, what a wonderful product we have and why they should provide our babies shelf  space, but it's not going to happen that way. 

Many Independent and/or Hybrid authors are learning the ropes of being small business owners and the challenges of how to introduce their products into the marketplace in a way that will intrigue the potential customer.

The first order of business is to present as flawless a product as you possibly can. That means you must write and rewrite, no matter how long it takes or how many times you have to rewrite, until the story line and the grammar are as close to perfect as you can make them. Don't expect your beta readers to do this for you. Most beta readers are honored to be asked to read and are not fellow writers. They may see problems, but may not be able to pinpoint what they are and many beta readers don't want to hurt your feelings by telling you there is something intrinsically wrong with your manuscript.

Once you have your manuscript as close to perfect as you can make it you can move on to the next step.

What is the next step? No. It is not putting your book up on Amazon.

The next step is to find an editor who knows what she is doing. In a perfect world you would have both a copy editor and a content editor. One polices your grammar while the other looks for the inconsistencies and flaws in your story that would have a reader pelting the wall with your book. A good editor is worth her weight in gold, so don't try to cut corners and use someone just because they are cheap.

You must send the editor your best work and not expect her to be a miner. It is not her job to dig through the sludge heaps to find the nuggets of gold. It is not her job to rewrite and polish the story for you. That is your job. It is her job to find the problems that you are too close to see.

Then you have to do the edits that are suggested. If you have done your due diligence this step should not take too long. If you didn't do a proper rewrite, you will find you have a lot of work to do.

Now it is time to put the perfect face onto your product. The packaging is the first thing anyone will see of your book. Before they see the title, or your name, your blurb, or even an excerpt, they are going to see the cover in all its glory or all its flaws. People do judge the book by its cover, before they buy it. Before they even look to see who wrote it. You must find a cover artist who you can work with. 

(Time for an important note!!! If you are writing a sweet romance or an inspirational novel, do not put a naked body on your cover. The naked body may sell more books, but it is false advertising and the reader will never, ever, ever forgive you for not delivering on the promise your cover makes! Likewise, if your book is riddled with sex, do not put a picture of a white church in the middle of the town square on the cover. Inspirationals may be an up and coming market, but they are not your market. No matter how wonderful you may think your characters are or how uplifting the story, not everyone is going to love them, and the readers will not love them if you sold them sweetness and innocence and gave them hard core sexual situations.) 

A good cover artist will tell you when the cover you want does not go with the story you are selling.

Once you have the best product you can devise, then it is time to put it up for sale on the platforms you have chosen. And marketing begins. But that is a story for another day. 

Just remember, people will forgive many things, but they will not forgive you if you tell them you are selling them a Shetland pony and they get it home only to discover it is a Saint Bernard with gas problems. Be honest in your packaging and your labeling. 

And sell them the best damn book you can!

Spring is Here!

Spring is here in all her glory. Almost overnight the flowers were gone from the trees and leaves unfurled to their beautiful green glory. The tulips and the lilacs are now past, but the pansies and petunias are blooming away.

One of the strawberries on my hanging strawberry plant is already beginning to go from green to red.

Yes, spring is here. Along with high pollen counts, cars racing by with the bass vibrating the entire neighborhood, and motorcycles that roar in the night.

In the United States this is Memorial Day weekend. My little guys and I will be marching in the parade with the librarian and other children dressed in storybook character outfits. One of my boys is going to be Peter Pan and the other Tinkerbell. I think I am going to be Mother Goose. (I still have to make the costumes.)

This weekend is the time when it is supposed to be safe (in my region) to plant your garden. It is also the time to decorate the final resting place of our loved ones. It is the beginning of the summer season. 

Our lives are always filled with new beginnings. Some are obvious, like the first day of school and a new baby, some are more obscure and harder to understand, like a divorce or a dreaded move.

But it is summertime folks! "Summertime, when the living is easy . . ." or at least you have a chance to get out and imbibe some vitamin D. But remember the sunscreen!

Summer is also a great time to grab a book and a shady spot and enjoy a refreshing breeze.

In honor of Memorial Day I am serving my guests something red, white, and blue. I hope you will enjoy the Strawberry Punch and Blueberry Turnovers with vanilla ice cream.

Have a safe and happy weekend.

)*(

Strawberry Punch Recipe

• 1 can (46 ounces) pineapple juice, chilled
• 2-1/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup thawed pink lemonade concentrate (although, if you use it frozen it will thaw out into the mixture and help chill it, just add the frozen after the sugar)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 quart strawberry ice cream
• 2-1/2 quarts ginger ale, chilled

Directions

In a punch bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Add ice cream; stir gently. Add ginger ale; stir gently. Serve immediately. Makes: 6 quarts.

)*(

Blueberry Turnovers

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (can be replaced with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream)
• 1 tablespoon 2% milk

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine 1/2 cup blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon peel. Mash well. Bring to a boil over low heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in butter and remaining blueberries.

Unfold puff pastry. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each pastry sheet into a 12-in. square. Cut each into four squares. Spoon 3 tablespoons of filling into the center of each square; fold diagonally in half and press edges to seal.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Beat egg and water; brush over pastry.

Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over turnovers. Or you can replace the drizzle with vanilla ice cream, frozen yogurt, or whipped cream. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.

Goodreads Giveaway.

I am giving away a signed copy of The Counterfeit Bride at Goodreads.

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/52137-the-counterfeit-bride

Escape!

Today I escaped the house and those adorable little guys that always manage to lure me away from my laptop. I went to the cafe at Barnes & Noble and was crushed to find my favorite tables were all taken. (Those are the ones near the two electrical units we need to charge our laptops when they start to run down!!!)

I ended up sitting way off to the side where I couldn't easily motitor when one of the lucky people left. But I eventually parlayed my little table for two into a bigger, and closer table for four. I was there for about twenty minutes when the table next to my favorite opened up. I scampered away before anyone else noticed, which was good because right after I moved a tutor came in with her client who was wheelchair bound and the table for four was more suitable for them. It gave them the space they needed to spread the books and worksheets across it.

It took a total of two hours before I reached my desired seat. Last time I came the people at my tables out stayed me. They were there more than nine hours! I was only there for six.

Now all is right with the world. 

And how is your day going?

Fare Thee Well, Annette

And now it's time to say goodbye to one of our family . . . (To paraphrase the old farewell song.)

Even though we had never met, Annette played a big part in my life. She was the big sister I always wanted. She could sing, dance, and people loved her. I watched her as a Babe in Toy Land, she had adventures with Zorro, she was a girl with spunk and heart.

When I learned how to read I devoured a Golden Book fiction series in which Annette was the heroine. Oh the adventures we went on in those chapter books! Annette taught me that a girl could have adventures. 

Then we met Frankie Avalon and spent summers singing and dancing on the beach. (Well, they did, while I watched them in a nice air conditioned movie theater while I ate Raisonettes.)

After my children came along Annette shared her favorite peanut butter with me.

It is with great joy that I remember what Annette meant to a lonely little girl and great sadness that I say goodbye.

This is my favorite MMC memory of Annette.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6NatiMGTH4

Rest in Peace, Annette.

My friends, it gives me great pleasure to announce The Counterfeit Bride is now on sale at both Amazon and Amazon UK.

Blurb

Texas rancher and bar owner Cassidy Flynn is shocked to learn the bride’s name in an upcoming high society wedding – Cassiopeia Dolmides. Cassidy is a woman of secrets; the deepest is the identity she was born with and thought she had escaped long ago. If this bride is impersonating Cassidy, what trouble will that cause Cassidy and her infant son?

Greek tycoon Theron Christofides needs to gain possession of Dolmides Cruise Lines and the little Greek island where it left a shipwrecked eyesore. A lot of people are at risk without his intervention. Old man Dolmides will sell on one condition: Theron must marry Dolmides’ illegitimate daughter. Seeing no other way to rescue the island’s people, Theron agrees to sacrifice himself and his future.

As Theron stands at the altar with his bride-to-be, a fiery-haired woman in snakeskin boots and a cowboy hat interrupts their vows by calling his bride a fraud. In order for the wedding to continue, Theron must convince Cassidy Flynn to drop her lawsuit. Can he withstand Cassidy’s allure while he gains her cooperation? Or will they both be consumed by the fire of desire?

I hope you will stop by and check out The Counterfeit Bride. While you are at Amazon, please add Cassidy and Theron's story to your wish list. (It will help my placement.) After you read the book I would appreciate it if you would leave a review. Good or bad. I hope you will love the book as much as I did writing it.

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/c8lstot

Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/cbs6oqc