Audiobooks ... It's complicated

Just like health care turned out to be complicated, selling audiobooks turns out to be complicated, too.

I admit it; I'm cheap and audiobooks aren't. That's why I ask for audiobooks as holiday presents. This week, I finally got around to listening to a couple I got for Christmas. One was okay, and the other was absurdly ridiculous. Laugh aloud ridiculous.  It's Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny by Garrison Keillor. I was never a huge fan of his Lake Wobegon, although I've read a few of them and did enjoy them, but it was A Christmas Blizzard (and the story bears almost no resemblance to the Amazon audio description--who was smoking what when that got uploaded?) that made me seek out another of Keillor's audiobooks.  Mr. Keillor read them himself, and in the case of Guy Noir, has a couple of other people help with the narration. It's marvelous!

But, as usual, I digress.

A lot of people LOVE audiobooks, but (as mentioned above) they aren't cheap. That's why when I went go hog into the audiobook business, I figured I could cut my price and sell more--making up the loss of income in bulk sales. No such luck. Turns out the author--no matter who s/he sells the audio rights to, has no say in pricing. One of my readers in England was lamenting the fact that he can't even GET my cozies in the UK. Guess what? We have no say on where the audiobooks are distributed, either.

That's why I'm sort of the perfect candidate for audiobooks. When I like something, I read or listen to it over and over again. (It's like visiting an old friend. And did I mention I've listened to A Christmas Blizzard so many times I've partially worn out disk 2?) So when I (or someone I love) do pony up the dough to buy an audiobook, I know I'm going to get my money's worth out of it.

Anyway, it turns out that last year I paid 20% more to have 3 audiobooks recorded than I made selling all 14 of my titles. One of my titles has only sold 3 copies.  (The other 5 that "account for sales" are actually ones I gave away for reviews. Not everyone who gets a free audiobook to review ever actually does that, either. Rather disheartening, really.)

If you love but can't afford audiobooks, ask your library to order them. I've also heard readers say they listen to them via  Hoopla.

So ... those are the audiobook facts as I know them.

Are you an audiobook listener? If so, maybe you'll check out mine.  You can find pages dedicatd to them on my websites.  Just click the links below.Booktown Audiobooks -- The Jeff Resnick Audiobooks -- Lorraine's Audiobooks

P.S.  There are two great Facebook pages to learn about (mostly) mystery audiobooks.  They are:

Incredible Indie Authors Audio Page           Mystery Audiobooks Lovers

I hope you'll sign up to follow both of these pages. Thanks!

All I need is a little cabinet!

Sometimes you wonder what people are thinking when they do the layout on a house. For some strange reason, my laundry room is long and narrow and pretty much dysfunctional. The former owner was a quilter, and I guess she had her sewing machine set up there, but it had been put away when we looked at the house.

So, the washer and dryer are crowded in one corner and there's a narrow space left that's pretty much useless. And though there are cabinets above the washer and dryer, they're stuffed and overflowing. (I need to actually open the doors and find out what's inside. I'm betting I could chuck half of it.) Basically the room has become a drop zone for anything that comes into the house.

THAT HAS GOT TO STOP.

So, I thought I'd buy a cabinet to put at the far end of the room. Something that could take the laundry detergent, etc. It would be even better if the bottom half could store a dirty laundry basket. Currently, we have a space for that at the bottom of our ONE AND ONLY linen closet, that could be better used for ... I dunno ... linens???

So I went hunting for a cabinet and found that whatever I like is either too expensive, or no longer available.  Like that pink cabinet to the left. (It came in other colors, too.) That's exactly what I'm looking for. This was actually listed as baby furniture and, because I like it, it's no longer in stock--anywhere. : (

Then there's this beautiful cabinet from Paula Deen's furniture line. Isn't it lovely? And only $1,465 (but free shipping!  Whoopie!). Nearly $1500 to store dirty laundry? I don't think so.

Home Depot has some storage stuff in the $200 range (looked them up online) but they don't stock them at the store--they're only available online, and I'm afraid they'll look too cheezy and may not be sturdy. I buy my laundry detergent in bulk. Will a big jug like that make the shelves buckle?

I looked on Craigslist, but everything there was made of particle board. (I stopped buying particle board furniture a l-o-n-g time ago.) So I don't know what I'm going to do.

When my parents bought their last house, a metal utility cabinet came with it. My mother stored odds and ends in it but would not part with it. It wasn't until she passed away that I got hold of it. I scrubbed away years of dirt and spilled ickiness, and repainted it inside and out. It's now in my enclosed porch and stores my gardening tools. If I could find something like that for the laundry room, it sure would make life easier. Until I can find something, I guess the laundry room will remain a drop zone. : (

Any ideas on how to solve this dilemma?

Junking with my pal

Last Wednesday my friend, Amy, and I went to the Ronald McDonald House sale here in my town. Holy smoke! Can you say CHAOS!!! It was 120,000 square feet of STUFF. If I had a bigger house, I would have spent a FORTUNE. As it is, I spent less than $10--but I was there for the thrill of the hunt.  Amy's a mom with two young boys, so it was inevitable that she wanted to spend a LOT of time in the toy section, while I was more interested in home furnishings. (Like I have any more room in my house to put them.) We wandered away from one another, but since we both had phones, knew we would eventually find each other again.

We walked into the HUGE room and were impressed with how all the (vastly overpriced--since 90% of what was there was donated by average people like you and me) merchandise was arranged.  We walked in to a pretty big Christmas section. Wow!  There were things I would have bought had I not already had similar items (like a dozen or so Made-In-Japan Christmas figurines of which I already have at least 200). So it was this little Christmas book that caught my attention and I scooped it up. It's two years older than me (and I'm not admitting how old THAT is).

This little Christmas book is chock full of wonderful little hints on how to have a great holiday. I saw it and fell in love with it. I'm going to save and savor it after Thanksgiving. Don't worry. I won't lose it. I keep all my holiday books in one spot and reread them (or at least look at the pictures) every holiday season.

I hoped to find that cabinet for my laundry room, but the only thing that came close to what I wanted already had a sold tag on it.  So I wandered into the first china section. I could have stood there for an hour or more just admiring the china and glassware. I saw this little beauty and snatched it up. I don' t know if it is a "real" Chintz cup, but it was pretty enough for me. It has a hairline crack on the inside, so they gave it to me for half off. Since I'll probably only display it, the crack doesn't bother me a bit.

Next up was the stationery department. Wow.  I bought one thing, and it's the only thing I didn't take a photo of: a very LARGE roll of brown paper for wrapping parcels. In the future, I will use it when I send out prizes to members of Lorraine's Perpetual Tea Party Page on Facebook!  (Want to join? Click this link.)

Across from the stationery was the main (with the more common) china section. HOLY COW -- did they have teacups. Probably 30 or 40 beautiful bone china teacups. I already have 40 or 50 teacups, and since they weren't chintz or even pseudo-chintz, I had to pass them by. But the regular plates were reasonably priced (what I'd pay at a yard sale).

My first purchase was a square plate. I collect square plates. I have about 50-60 of them on the wall going down to my finished basement. They're from all over the place/world. I don't know why I started collecting them, I just did. (Do you have a collection like that?)

Of course, I was drawn to the very small selection of Syracuse China. I'm a sucker for Syracuse China (which is no longer in business, along with Buffalo China). I have quite a few pieces. This is a sandwich or cake plate. I have two bigger plates in this pattern (in blue) so it immediately caught my eye. There were other pieces I could have bought, but quite frankly I'm running out of room. But there's always room for just one more dish, isn't there?

That was it for the Ronald McDonald House sale, but that's not all I bought this week.

On Tuesday, I took Mr. L to the Holloway House in Bloomfield, NY to celebrate his birthday (which was actually last month, but they weren't open for the season at that time). We had a wonderful meal (actually it was their turkey dinner -- which they serve for Thanksgiving. Whoa! Delish!) I love the charm of his historical restaurant, which was built in the early 1800s.  What I also love is their Syracuse china (pattern = Colonial). Isn't it adorable? I looked up the pattern on Replacements Ltd. and I might just have to buy a small plate just so I can enjoy looking at it at home.

Nearby is an antiques co-op. Of course, not everything in such a co-op is an antique, so it was also full of wonderful collectibles. And I had talked myself out of more than a dozen items until I was about to walk out the door, and that's when I saw this (see below).

One of my favorite cookbook authors, Susan Branch, collects what she calls Beatrix Potter "people." The characters from the Beatrix Potter books. (I believe her first piece was Jamima Puddle-Duck.) When I saw "Lady Mouse Made a Curtsy" was (dated 1980 and) marked for less than $5, I snatched it right up. (In real life, I DESPISE mice. Anyone who has had them poop on their silverware would feel the same way.) I looked online and saw the same figurine going for $10+. so I think I got a great deal. Despite the fact she's a mouse, she's very cute. She will live in one of my china cabinets.

So that's my "junking" for the week.  Well, maybe not.  There's still Saturday to go!

What treasures have you found while junking?

There's some of me in everything I write

One of the fun things about writing is you can incorporate tiny pieces of your life into your stories.

There was a time when I hated to shop. (Yeah, sounds weird now.) Of course, I still hate to shop for certain things. (Like clothes. No matter what I buy, I always look like a barrel. Yeah, hate clothes shopping.) One of the reason I became a vendor at an antiques and crafts arcade was because I loved to shop there. I was furnishing our home and they had the best stuff! That's about the time I also started to go junking (which sounds a lot cooler than saying I went to yard sales).

You can get all kinds of GOOD stuff at yard sales.  I was recently in Florida, and they have yard sales ALL YEAR LONG! (Imagine that!!!!!) Mr. L collects cocktail shakers. I found these three shakers for $2 -- TWO BUCKS!!! (Love that the left and middle one are etched. I figure the one on the left is from the 1950s; the other two are much newer, but were unique enough that he wanted to add them to his collection.)

But (as usual) I digress.

I'm working on my second Life on Victoria Square story (A companion series to go with The Victoria Square Mysteries) featuring a minor character who has shown up in a couple of the Victoria Square Mysteries. We're talking a walk-on character who never even had a line of dialogue. But she stuck in my mind and I knew she had a story to tell ... I just didn't know what it was until this week, that is. She didn't even have a name. They just referred to her as "the woman who never pays more than a buck for anything." And what's her claim to fame?  A rose made of crepe paper. I'm having fun describing all the treasures she's picked up while shopping at Artisans Alley and I hope my readers will enjoy getting to know her, too.

The first Life on Victoria Square story goes on sale on today. It's called CARVING OUT A PATH, and features Ray Davenport, the cranky police detective who clashed with Katie in the first three novels.

A young shoplifter not only swipes a couple of hand-carved figurines from Ray Davenport, owner of Victoria Square’s Wood U gift shop, but barrels into and injures Katie Bonner, manager of Artisans Alley. Upon his escape, the police are called, but before the ink is dry on the report, the boy’s grandmother drags the would-be thief back to return the purloined items. She’s got an agenda and great expectations. Can Ray come through in a pinch?


Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | iBooks | Nook | Kobo

I have plans to write about all the merchants on Victoria Square.

(P.S. So happy my cover designer could add three of my Dad's carvings to the cover.  Aren't the Santas adorable?  At the end of the story, I added the Story BEHIND the Story to tell readers about those carvings.)

I hope you'll give Ray (and later Iris) a chance!

Coming Attractions: Gladiolas

Yesterday, Mr. L and I got our taxes done. Not fun. (Especially since we owe.) So, to cheer ourselves up, we went to the garden store.

Oh, it was WONDERFUL! The big greenhouse doors were open and you walked in and all the spring flowers were in bloom. It smelled heavenly.

On my list to get was gladiola bulbs. My mother always grew gladiolas and I came to love them as much as her. The lady at the store said, "We don't have many. Nobody wants them anymore." I felt so sad for the gladiolas that I bought three bags. She said to wait until Memorial Day to plant them, but with global warming, I don't think I need to wait that long. I can't wait to get really going in the garden.

I know a lot of you in warmer climates have your gardens up and going. Tell us what's blooming!

Adding real life to my writing

One of the fun things about writing is you can incorporate tiny pieces of your life into your stories.

There was a time when I hated to shop. (Yeah, sounds weird now.) Of course, I still hate to shop for certain things. (Like clothes. No matter what I buy, I always look like a barrel. Yeah, hate clothes shopping.) One of the reason I became a vendor at an antiques and crafts arcade was because I loved to shop there. I was furnishing our home and they had the best stuff! That's about the time I also started to go junking (which sounds a lot cooler than saying I went to yard sales).

You can get all kinds of GOOD stuff at yard sales.  I was recently in Florida, and they have yard sales ALL YEAR LONG! (Imagine that!!!!!) Mr. L collects cocktail shakers. I found these three shakers for $2 -- TWO BUCKS!!! (Love that the left and middle one are etched. I figure the one on the left is from the 1950s; the other two are much newer, but were unique enough that he wanted to add them to his collection.)

But (as usual) I digress.

I'm working on my second Life on Victoria Square story (A companion series to go with The Victoria Square Mysteries) featuring a minor character who has shown up in a couple of the Victoria Square Mysteries. We're talking a walk-on character who never even had a line of dialogue. But she stuck in my mind and I knew she had a story to tell ... I just didn't know what it was until this week, that is. She didn't even have a name. They just referred to her as "the woman who never pays more than a buck for anything." And what's her claim to fame?  A rose made of crepe paper. I'm having fun describing all the treasures she's picked up while shopping at Artisans Alley and I hope my readers will enjoy getting to know her, too.

The first Life on Victoria Square story goes on sale on Tuesday. It's called CARVING OUT A PATH, and features Ray Davenport, the cranky police detective who clashed with Katie in the first three novels.

A young shoplifter not only swipes a couple of hand-carved figurines from Ray Davenport, owner of Victoria Square’s Wood U gift shop, but barrels into and injures Katie Bonner, manager of Artisans Alley. Upon his escape, the police are called, but before the ink is dry on the report, the boy’s grandmother drags the would-be thief back to return the purloined items. She’s got an agenda and great expectations. Can Ray come through in a pinch?


Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | iBooks | Nook | Kobo

I have plans to write about all the merchants on Victoria Square.

(P.S. So happy my cover designer could add three of my Dad's carvings to the cover.  Aren't the Santas adorable?  At the end of the story, I added the Story BEHIND the Story to tell readers about those carvings.)

I hope you'll give Ray (and later Karen) a chance!

Spring has sprung ... now what?

Monday was the first day of spring. YAY!!

Okay, the winter wasn't that bad. (And they threatened us with the worst.) But spring bring with it places that are "seasonal" or are just seasonal to me.

I spend a lot of my summer at our family's summer cottage. I use it as a writing retreat. Usually it's just Fred (my Tuxedo) and me writing up a storm. I can see the bay from my office window. If the weather cooperates, I may be able to go on my first retreat as early as the end of April.

But spring means we can also go to come of our "summer" haunts.  The Halloway House reopens for the season  It's a historic old restaurant that cooks good, old-fashioned food. In fact, you can have Thanksgiving dinner whenever you want it. (We haven't tried that yet. for a set price, you get the whole shebang with enough food to feed six people. What a bargain.) And they make good drinks, too.  Every customer gets Sally Lunn bread (a cross between bread and cake) and orange sweet rolls. OMG -- I can't wait until it reopens (in 3 weeks) so that we can go there and enjoy it once again.

I'm really looking forward to getting out in the garden and attacking my rose bushes.  I bought a new bush last fall and asked the guy at the garden store when I should prune what I've already got. He said in the spring. That's kind of open-ened. I mean, spring is technically now, and runs through most of June. What part of spring?

The other day, I spent way too many hours watching gardening videos on Youtube.  I have never really pruned my old-fashioned rosebush and it's totally out of control. I got the answer to my big question above when  one guy said not to prune until the forsythia blooms--so that's my timeline. I've got pruning shears and loppers and when the time is right, I'm going to go to town. I saw at least 6 pruning videos, so I think I'm ready.

I also watched a bunch of videos on African violets, and learned I've been doing just about everything wrong. Oddly enough, I haven't killed any of mine. (I had 3 and inherited my mothers, so I've now got 6 or 8.). You're not supposed to get the leaves wet or they'll go brown.  Oops!  No wonder I have little brown spots on some of my leaves. In future, you can bet I'll be more careful when I water  them. The one my Mum had at the hospice home bloomed for 20 months straight. It's taking a break now, but I gave it a little fertilizer and hope I can coax it to bloom again soon.

I'm not sure if I'm going to try to grow veggies again. It's so labor intensive and we have a market two miles down the road that sells local produce really cheap, and all I have to do is wash it. No weeding, no watering, no critters stealing my crops and breaking my heart. Yup. I think I'm going to give up growing veggies.

So, what does spring have you hankering to do or go?

Coming soon!

Theres’s good (and some bad) news for my Victoria Square readers. First, due to personal considerations, Laurie Cass will not be working with me on the next two books. (Yes, at least two more!) which makes me sad. But I'll be teaming up with another well-known cozy mystery author to write the next two books (and--cross your fingers--possibly beyond). I need to wait for her to ink the contract before I can announce her name, but I'm looking forward to working with her.

And now for the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

I've started a companion series called Life on Victoria Square. Every couple of months, I'll be putting out a new Victoria Square story featuring the merchants on Victoria Square, as well as some of the events they celebrate. The first story, available April 11th, features Ray Davenport, the former homicide detective turned shopkeeper.

A young shoplifter not only swipes a couple of hand-carved figurines from Ray Davenport, owner of Victoria Square's Wood U gift shop, but barrels into and injures Katie Bonner, manager of Artisans Alley. Upon his escape, the police are called, but before the ink is dry on the report, the boy's grandmother drags the would-be thief back to return the purloined items. She's got an agenda and great expectations. Can Ray come through in a pinch?

PREORDER NOW!

Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Smashwords

Coming soon to iBooks and Kobo!

Read more about the series by clicking this link. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A few of my treasures

One of the things I enjoy most about the summer and early fall is going junking on a Saturday morning with Mr. L. Since he's a mapmaker, he knows where he's going, and I just look at the scenery between our jaunts to yard sales and thrift stores.

Now that it's winter, it's the thrift stores that have me coming back. The truth is, I don't enjoy going to thrift stores as much as yard sales because their prices are a lot higher (which is understandable; they've got overhead). But this time of year, it's either thrift stores or NOTHING.

I have a few favorites, and even though times are lean (because A) I'm cheap, and B) do I really need more stuff?), I only buy stuff I think I will actually use or can find a good home for. Take this pretty cup. That was a find. It'snot bone china (which is what I collect), but I'm pretty sure I can find a home for this Made In Japan cup, which I estimate to be 50+ years old and with no chips. The doily was a dime--A DIME!  The store must have really wanted to get rid of them. There was a whole basket of them for a dime each.

Of course, I have a doily problem. I look at all the work that went into them, and can't bear to leave them behind, especially if I think nobody will love them. This creates a problem when you have tubs and tubs of doilies. It's come to the point where I'm going to have to do something about them. Maybe open an Etsy store? But that takes a lot of time. Time I could be writing (or otherwise known as gainfully employed). I'm going to pull a Scarlett O'Hara and "think about it another day."

What I got on another foray was a tiny jewelry box for a buck that's covered with sweet angels. Isn't it adorable?

The top opens, and it's got a little drawer.  The truth is, I really don't need a new-to-me jewelry box ... at least at home, but I thought it might look cute at our family's summer cottage. I have a jewelry box there (a yard sale find), but it's not nearly as cute and ... who says they have to live in the same room?

Here's another shot of it open with a few of my favorite pieces of jewelry.

When entering a shop, I'm often asked ... what are you looking for?  I'm first drawn to dishes, not that I buy many. But I recently acquired a brown transferware bowl (which I was too lazy to photograph). I love brown transferware, and it's not as common (or at least that's my experience) as one might think. I'm also drawn to jewelry ... bracelets in particular. I must have acquired 20 bracelets in the past few years. They don't take up a lot of room, and that's one reason why I like them.

So, what is it you're looking for when the "thrill of the hunt" overtakes you?

I don't want to blow my nose.

Look what the cleaning lady left me. A tissue rose.

Men luck out

I eat a healthy breakfast at least 6 days of the week (usually 7--and it's usually green juice). Mr. L eats whatever he wants and NEVER gains an ounce. I just look at the pound cake and gain weight.


It's pretty obvious what our cat Fred's choice is when it comes to breakfast.

 What did you have for breakfast this morning (and I'll bet you enjoyed it ore than I did).

My Brain Hurts Thanks To Website Woes

Over the years, I've learned just enough HTML code to be dangerous. I can update certain things on my website, and I recently learned how to embed a PDF. (If you go to my Lorraine site, on the From Katie's Kitchen page, you can download a couple of Katie's recipe cards.)

About six weeks ago, I was informed that the company that has hosted my website(s) since day one (and we're talking more than a decade), was going out of business. I've leaved in dread ever since then because I knew it was going to be a GIGANTIC pain in the patootie. And guess what. It is.

First, I contacted my website designer. We've been going back and forth about new hosting faculties while we talked about refreshing the look of at least two of my sites. Today was the day she said she was ready for the sites to be moved. (She's backed up everything and is ready to move forward.)

Gulp. That means it's my turn to figure things out.  So on Thursday, I spent over three hours talking with a prospective new host, the old host, and the people that take care of my domain names. And. I'm. Not. Done. Yet.

By the time I got through all that, it was Happy Hour and brother did I need a couple of strong belts.  Friday, I called the new hosting guy (a fellow name of Gene) and once I give him my authorization codes, he said he will "take care of the rest."  Whew, thoguth I was rescued because thinking about all that rigmarole made my brain hurt!

So, bright and early Friday morning I emailed Gene all my information to get the website shift in motion, including my phone number because that was going to be a LOT faster than doing on their website on my own.

Then I waited.

I only had one errand planned for the day, but it was to be a fun one.

Three hours later, I figured I wait until after lunch.  Sure -- I had HOURS left when I could run my errand.

And I waited.

By 4 pm, I'd gotten a little tire of waiting. I emailed Gene.  "Hey, are we going to do this today?"

No answer.

My goal is to call the company at the crack of dawn and see if somebody else will help me with this shift. I was told this company had good customer service.  So far, I'm not seeing it. But I'll give them another chance. ONE more chance.

But the good news is, my site will be moved. I'm getting a great 3-year rate (less than I paid for one year with the old host), and my website(s) will be refreshed.  I'm starting with my Lorraine site.  Here's a sneak peak.

So what do you think?

From Biker Chick to Short Order Cook

Who is Noreen Darby?

If you've read With Baited Breath, the first Lotus Bay Mystery novel, you know that Noreen is part-owner of The Bay Bay, which is right next door to the wreck of a house Kathy Grant wants to turn into a B&B.

Noreen was an office worker who rode a motorcycle. (Although, she's not into tatts, so don't ask if she has any.)  She met Paul Darby, owner of the bar, on a Poker Run, and it was love at first sight. She traded in her job and now she'd the short-order cook at the bar.

Wow, what a change. She went from filing papers to flipping burgers. From eight hours a day to whatever it took to keep the customers happy, and since the bar also takes in fishermen (they've got two rooms to let), she's also in charge of keeping those rooms clean and ready for the next guest.

She liked her life, but it got better when she met Tori Cannon, her BFF Kathy, and Tori's childhood friend, Anissa. What do they all have in common? Being business owners .... or at least they have that goal in mind.

It was Noreen who held out the hand of friendship.

“It’s a tough life. Not only do I cook, but I keep the rooms clean, too. And let me tell you, some of our guests are real pigs—and they’re not all men.”

“I hear you,” Kathy said, taking a sip of her neglected drink. The ice had melted, leaving it watery. “We’re starting with the bait shop. We’ll scrub the outside walls and start painting it tomorrow.”

“We’ve got a power washer. We’d be glad to loan it to you guys.”

“That’s very generous of you. I’ll take you up on it. Thanks.”

“Anything to help out Herb,” Noreen said. “I’ll be back in the kitchen about eight in the morning. Knock on the door and you can pick it up then.”

That was the beginning.

So you can see that Noreen is a real sweetheart.

I'm currently figuring out the next adventure for these entrepreneurial ladies, including fleshing out Noreen's character.  What do you think? Should she have a funny hobby? Collect something strange? Knit sweaters for birds with no feathers?  Come on--share your ideas.

And if you haven't read the book, you can:

Trade Paperback:  Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books A Million

Book Depository ~ Chapters/Indigo  ~ Indiebound

Ebooks:  Kindle US ~ Kindle Worldwide ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ iBooks

On the Breakfast Menu

Mmm-- delicious poppy seed bread (cake?) from the local Polish store. Of course, that's Mr. L's breakfast. Me? I'm having my usually green (vegetable) goop. 

Who do you think had the better breakfast?

Inspired by a child

Poppyseed cake with lime glaze that I made.

I admit it, I came to cooking and baking LATE.. Baking, not too late, but cooking LATE.

I always liked to bake because I like sweets. Cookies and pies were about the extent of it, but now I like to bake cakes, too. I don't do it that often because ... well, once you bake something, it must be eaten, and my eating audience has dwindled to about my husband and brother, and my brother is usually on a diet (one of those crazy ones where you only have 500 calories a day, so you eat a lot of canned veggies and apples.  Hmmm...he always loses weight. Maybe I should try that).

I used to brag about how much I DIDN'T like to cook. But then I started writing cozy mysteries, and it's almost a given that you need to include a few recipes. So I started making stuff to test recipes and I found out that I like to tinker with recipes, too.

I had a little time on my hands of late (call it a rest between writing assignments) and I started watching Kitchen Nightmares (with Gordon Ramsey) on Youtube. In just over a week, I'd watched every one available. (Talk about binge watching.) Then I moved on to Hotel Hell. I really liked that one because I got to learn how NOT to run a B&B. And Gordon's cussing? Doesn't bother me a bit. (Hey, I worked in a machine shop for 18 months drilling holes in metal parts for the space shuttle. I've heard it all.)

Yesterday, I watched nearly a whole season of Masterchef Junior (going to watch the finale to see if Addison or Avery wins--go girl power!). What amazed me about that show was the level of skill these kids have. We're talking 8-year-olds who can whip up a serving of duck a l'Orange, bake perfect cream puffs, and cook a perfect medium rare steak, none of which I feel capable of doing.  (For one think, I like my steak well done, which would cause the Chef to puke ... and I've heard him do it many times after being served nasty food. Oy, some of those walk-in fridges make you never want to visit a restaurant again).

But, I felt inspired by those kids and decided to make the recipe I've been collecting ingredients for all week.

Pasta With White Beans And Kalamata Olives
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 ounces uncooked rotini pasta
1 can (about 15 ounces) navy beans
1 can (about 14 ounces) diced tomatoes
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives
½ cup spinach leaves, packed
¼ cup (1 ounce) pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
½ cup grated feta cheese
pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, combine the oil, garlic, salt and pepper flakes; set aside.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, drain the beans and tomatoes in a colander. Pour the pasta and cooking water over the beans and tomatoes. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic mixture, olives, spinach, nuts, and basil. Gently toss; blend well.  Top with the cheese.

Yield:  4 to 6 servings

Now, I don't like feta cheese, so I substituted Parmesan; I couldn't find pine nuts, but it tasted great without them. And fresh basil?  This is winter in Western NY. Dried worked out just fine. (See what I mean about tinkering with recipes.)

I may not be a Masterchef, but I'm happy when I make a recipe that works and then goes into the dinner rotation.  This one's a keeper.  And, it's going into my next cookbook (with my changes, of course), "written" by my character, Brenda Stanley.

Care to share a recipe for something you've made recently?

Do I really need something else to collect?

 A couple of years ago, I found a Bossons head at an estate sale.  What's a Bosson's head?  A picture tells a thousand words, they say. Basically, it's a head made of plaster of Paris (or chalkware).  You can read all about them here.

My mother and aunt collect(ed) them, neither of them had/have a huge collection, but they're very interesting and kind of delicate--they chip very easily.  Mr. L gave me two for Christmas and wasn't as careful as he might have been. One of them broke after he wrapped it. Luckily, he has a friend who can mend things so that you can't tell they've been broken.  (One of our cats chewed the ears off a cat statue Mr. L had given me and his friend was able to repair it so that there was no trace it had been gnawed.)

I've now got five. Women Bossons heads are very rare indeed, and Mr. L bought me a female for Christmas. I wish I could say she was pretty, but she's a fisherman's wife, and she looks it. In fact, not many could be considered "pretty," but they are true-to-life.

Most of my Bossons heads are fishermen (and woman), but I do have a policeman (who was my second head). I've looked at a lot of images online and I think I'd like a Beefeater next. But that can wait. I've still got a birthday and Christmas to go in 2017.

The other day, I was at a thrift shop. Sad to say, I did NOT find a Bossons head, but I did find a small plaster of Paris plaque of a fisherman at the helm. Mr. L said it reminded him of the Glouesster Fisherman statue in Massachusetts.

As you can see, it's rather humble, but sweet. I thought it would make a nice addition to my wee Bossons collection.

Do I really need to find anything else to collect?

Nope.

Is that going to stop me?

Nope.

What useless things do you collect?

New Release: An Unexpected Visitor

Just in time for the holidays, I've written a new Blythe Cove manor story you may want to read.

AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR

All is quiet at Blythe Cove Manor as its proprietress, Blythe Calvert, anticipates a peaceful holiday along with her cat, Martha. But then a taxi pulls up and drops off a troubled, runaway teen looking for a safe haven. Can the magic of Blythe Cove Manor heal this young girl’s aching heart?

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Happy Holidays!

A little something for myself

Squeeeee! I be bad. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a Facebook ad (and I usually totally ignore them unless they are from/by an author friends of mine) for a Spode broken china holiday pendant (they also offered matching earrings). Well, I got suckered in, but isn't it PRETTY!!!!!!!!!

I now have three of pieces of broken china jewelry. (I wanted to get a pendant made from a piece of my mother's broken china, but couldn't find a place that would make it.) Mr. L gave me the first two pieces. One is a heart-shaped pendant made from Royal Albert Country Roses pattern, and I don't know the pattern of the other -- it's a round pendant with a single yellow flower in the middle.

Mr. L wasn't happy when I showed him the new pendant, because he always wants me to TELL him what I what for Christmas -- but that's no fun because I these days I can just go out and buy stuff for myself. It's a lot more fun when somebody puts real thought into a gift--or even better, makes it themselves.

I so miss that about Christmas. My parents always made us at least one thing every Christmas (I missed the "crafty" gene.) My mother usually sewed (she quilted) or knitted something.

My Dad would make jewelry or carve a Santa or something else.

Christmas will never be the same.

Do you buy yourself stuff for the holidays?

Victoria Square Returns!

After almost four years, the Victoria Square Mysteries has finally continued. Today is publication day for Dead, Bath and Beyond.



Nothing can spoil Katie Bonner’s perfect day of sailing with her friend, lawyer Seth Landers. That is, until she runs into her ex-boss Josh at the marina. As an employer, Josh liked to rock the boat and can still push all Katie’s buttons. After a loud discussion, she’s happy to say good-bye for what she hopes is the last time. And it was. For the next day, Josh is found drowned in a bathtub at Sassy Sally’s B&B on Victoria Square. Who pulled the plug on Josh? When an autopsy proves it was lake and not bath water that killed him, Katie finds herself in over her head, and races to find the killer before her life and business go down the drain.
 
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Hope you'll give Katie's 4th adventure a try!

Thanks!

A blast from the past

For as long as I’ve had access to the Internet, I’ve been trying to find my favorite childhood read—and a mystery to boot! My third-grade teacher read us this book at least twice, and I remembering taking it out of the library several times between third and sixth grade. No matter how I searched, I could never find the book. It didn’t help that I didn’t know the author of the book, either.

Last week, I was working on a Blythe Cove Manor story (which still isn’t finished, although I wanted it to be available by December 1st), and I was looking for another word for “cove.” Mr. L suggested inlet. That got me thinking about the book I loved so much. I thought the title of the book was The Secret Cove. I remembered a few things about the book. A little girl was going to California to visit her great Aunt Alicia. The aunt didn’t realize how much a growing girl could eat, and the poor kid was starved through most of the book, and ended up spending her vacation money to eat at a diner—and making new friends along the way.

This time, I thought I’d put in the words “Aunt Alicia” + “Secret” + “Cove” and BINGO! I immediately got a hit.  My memory was sort of correct. The words Secret and Cove were in the title, but not enough of the title.  The book is actually The Secret of Smuggler’s Cove by Margaret Leighton.

Woo-hoo!  Amazon, here I come.

Only not so fast.  I immediately ordered a used copy of the book (which has been out of print for decades). And I waited and waited and waited for them to give me an email about shipment.  Then I got a note from the 3rd party seller; “Sorry, but we can’t find the title you’re interested in.”

So back I went to Amazon and ordered from the next available vendor. (Only this time the book was double the price.)  And while I was there, I decided to order a copy of another book I read and reread as a child: Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison (a real person who lived in upstate NY not far from Rochester), by Lois Lenski. Woo-hoo! I ordered a cheapie copy of that, too.  They both arrived on Wednesday.

I haven’t had a chance to read either of them yet, so I’m rather on pins and needles.  Will they be as good as I remember?

Do you have a favorite childhood read?  Did it stand the test of time?

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Now it's okay to play them

I love holiday music. I start sneaking it into the daily repertoire a week or two before Thanksgiving, usually playing it on my computer in my office. Of course, my office is connected to Mr. L's office. He doesn't love holiday music as much as I do, although I will admit that our favorite local soft rock station starts playing it the Friday before Thanksgiving 24/7. That gets REALLY tiresome because you're liable to hear the same song 3 times during the day.  (We have it on in the kitchen just for background noise.)

Last year, one of my readers (and I really wish I could remember who it was), introduced me to Straight No Chaser, an a capella group. They're known for singing some pretty whacky tunes. I first heard their rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas thanks to this Facebook friend. I liked it so much, I went straight to Amazon and bought one of their Christmas albums. (Christmas Cheer.) My favorites? That's a toughie. I think Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Why? Because not only have they a changed a few of the words, but it's a unique arrangement. I like different arrangements of familiar tunes. My Dad used to take me to The Arrangers Workshop at the Eastman Theatre From the time I was about 10 until I was in  my mid-20s. Great music from great guest artists.

Another of my favorites is Popular Christmas for a New Age. I got it at Wegmans (grocery store) for about $5 about 10 years ago. It was re-released last year with a new (icky) cover, but it's the same wonderful instrumental CD that I've been enjoying for the past 10 or more years. It's jazz/new age kind of music and, again, it's the arrangement of familiar tunes in a different way that makes it unique and enjoyable for me.

Another artist I like, whose done quite a few holiday CDs, is David Arkenstone. I like his Visions of Christmas (my favorite on this one is Tchaikovsky's Arabian Dance from the Nutcracker. I could listen to that all day and tire of it), Christmas Lounge, and Celtic Christmas, but the one I like most of all is Enchantment: A Magical Christmas. They're all instrumentals and, again, all great arrangements of familiar holiday tunes.

I also have a few piano only DCs that I play over and over again (ad nauseam, Mr. L would say). My favorite is one I picked up at Target a few years back called Relaxing Christmas Piano. For some reason, it's the first one I play every year.  My favorite cut is God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, which is done in a rather somber key--but it's so different from any other version of that tune, that I find myself looking forward to it every time I put on the CD. (Yes, I still use CDs, but I also have everything on my computer or in the cloud, too, just so it's always available.)

In all I must have at least 50 holiday CDs and not all of them get played every year.

Why not share the title of YOUR favorite CD so that many of us can give it a try. It might just become one of my/our favorites, too!

Happy National Cake Day

Wouldn't you just LOVE to plunge a fork into that piece of cake???

Happy Thanksgiving!

Still Alive and Kicking

Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. Over the summer, I learned to stab my cat.

Actually, he's not at ALL my cat. Chester belongs to Mr. L and he suffers from kidney failure. He was going back and forth to the vet for a while and finally the vet (not OUR vet) said, in no uncertain terms, that if we didn't hospitalize Chester that he would die within a couple of days.

Why were we hesitant to board him?

Nine months before, we boarded Chester for 8 days when we took a trip. He needed to be medicated (for something entirely different) and my brother, who was taking care of the cats, wasn't up to that.  But every time Mr. L called to see how Chester was, he was inching closer to death. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't drink. They were having to hydrate him every day. Finally, we called my brother and said, "Bring him him." He did, and Chester did a turnaround pretty darn quick. By the time we returned two days later, he was in the pink.

Fast forward nine months and Chester was going downhill. Mind you, he's 18.5 years old. We've never had a boy cat live that long. But he needed fluids every three days. For a while, we were taking him to the vet, but it got to be more and more inconvenient because they had to squeeze him in between appointments. And another thing, Chester does not travel well in the car. It was very upsetting for him to have to travel every three days to a place he despised.

So it was decided that Mr. L would learn to give Chester his fluids. We went to the vet, got our lesson in subcutaneous fluids, were handed a bag of lactated ringers and a bag of 18 gauge needles and sent home to do the deed. I was surprised that many of my readers/Facebook friends had also given their cats (and a couple of dogs) a new lease on life with fluids, and was grateful for their encouragement of "you can do this!"

For the first couple of times, Mr. L did the deed. But then no matter what we did, we were spraying ringers all around the kitchen, and Chester wasn't getting his fluids. That's when I took over. Some days it works well, and he doesn't flinch when I stab him, and some days it doesn't go well. The vet techs (and OUR vet) both assured us that they screw up on a regular basis, but not that we've ever seen.

We've been doing this for almost four months now and Chester is back to being his old self. He kills his Beanie Babies on a regular basis (distributing them around the house), he eats and drinks well, and he's usually on one of our laps at any given time of the day. (But mostly Mr. L's because ... you know, Chester owns Mr. L.)

To what lengths are you willing to go to keep a pet alive?

It's just WAYYYYY too early!

Every year it annoys me more. There I am on a bright, balmy afternoon, bringing in the mail (which, for some reason, still brings me joy even though the days of receiving letters and greeting cards is long past), and there it sits on the bottom of the pile. The first Christmas magazine.

Okay, the usual holiday barrage of catalogs had begun back in September, but I find it really jarring to read about Christmas before the first snow. (Unfortunately, that happened last week. But it rained later and everything melted away before we could get too depressed.)

This, of all years, I'm not nearly ready--or in the mood--for Christmas yet. Wayyyyy too busy.  And you know in early December when I am in the holiday mood, they'll be sending me magazines featuring Valentine's Day and St. Paddy's Day recipes.

Now the catalogs I like. I love the t-shirts and signage. They give me ideas for graphics.  Like this one I made earlier this week. Isn't Sarge just adorable? Couldn't you just pick him up and smother him with love? I'll be using it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

But getting back to those Christmas issues, I'm going to read them all (and so far four have arrived), but not until at LEAST Thanksgiving. Luckily, I have lots of other reading material (just found a cache of magazines from June and July I'd put aside and forgotten). I see it as delayed gratification.

So how do you feel about the early holiday barrage?