Or something.
But hey, The Spectacle, a great blog that discusses speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy) has a contest going: Wow Us With Your Story Opening. We were tasked with writing a spooky / suspenseful / creepy story opening of 1 - 3 lines.
And I'm a finalist (as Shannon). :)
You can vote for your favorite story opening from among seven great entries.
But vote quickly - today's the last day!
Thanks!
[image via The Guardian]
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Friday, October 30, 2009
Vote for Me, and I'll Kiss Your Baby
Food Questers
Dave and I like our food. Foodie is too cute a word, gourmand too pretentious. Since we figured out that many of our favorite travel destinations are favorites because of a great food experience we had there, I'm going to call us Food Questers: always on the lookout for authentic food experiences -- and willing to go a long way to get them.
The nice thing is: authentic food experiences rarely require much food intake. The flavors tend to be so pure or intense (or unfamiliar) that you don't need more than a few bites. Take, for instance, the moment immortalized in my current profile photo: eating a fried grasshopper in Thailand. We bought a (really big!) bag of fried insects at a street cart, tried one of each type (there were four), then tossed the rest. They tasted like frying oil, so why down the whole bag?
Besides, once you've ticked off "eat bugs" from your Life List, you can move on, right?
So, in case the natural beauty and/or architectural amazements and/or cultural wonders of the following places aren't enough to get you there, go, my fellows, for the sake of your taste buds. You, too, can be a Food Quester! Huzzah! Plus, you can experience all that other great destination stuff in a post-taste euphoria. Win-win!
Some favorites:
Germany
Dunkel (dark beer) - Bavaria
Rosner's Lebkuchen (spiced cookies) - Waldsassen
potato pancakes - Nürnberg
Italy
cappuccino - Rome
pasta w/ olive oil + garlic - Rome
Spain
seafood paella - Barcelona
France
unpasteurized Brie - Bretagne
banana-Nutella crepes from a street cart - Paris
Poland
liver sautéed w/ apples + onions - Krakow
Czech Republic
goulash w/ steamed dumplings
Thailand
iced tea (w/ condensed milk!) - Bangkok
Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School - Chiang Mai
Malaysia
roti canai from a street cart - Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
roti prata - Singapore
New Zealand
high tea @ Bees Online Cafe - Waimauku
muffins & coffee @ Blah Blah Blah cafe - Dargaville
Ireland
Guinness on tap - anywhere!
soup and brown bread - anywhere!
What have been your favorite travel-related food experiences - domestic or foreign? did you like something you didn't think you would? Have you been able to recreate the experience at home?
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
nook, I have my eyes on you
I'm getting closer to buying a dedicated reading device.
I like the features of Barnes & Noble's nook. Some of the cooler ones include in-store specials, lending capability, and support for multiple platforms (FAQs). Seems like nook would be a good opportunity for new authors -- B&N could pair books at special prices -- known author + unknown author.
I've not wanted a separate reading device -- have been happy reading on my phone or Dave's iTouch. Recently, when I read paper (trade paperback-size) copies of Graceling and Fire, I found I didn't mind the larger page size. Kind of liked it, actually.
I think I'll head to a local store this weekend to see if they have their try-it-out model yet. Here's an account of nook marketing in Manhattan. UPDATE: Here's why one reader will pass on the nook.
For me, the only con so far is that the easy-on-the-eyes eInk screen means no backlight; I like being able to read in the dark without wearing a headlamp or using a booklight.
How about you? Are you tempted? Do you have a different ereader device? What would your dream ereader device do (if you had to own one)?
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Banana Bonanza
Some wacky banana muffins I made a few weeks ago. Mix-ins were (in a Z from top left): toasted walnuts, fresh cherries, sweet/hot peppers, chocolate chips, and toasted coconut. Used this basic recipe - mmmm!!!
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Roasted Veg & Shiner BBQ
Tonight's dinner, a joint effort: sweet potatoes and new red potatoes roasted w/ olive oil, thyme, and rosemary; asparagus and white carrots roasted w/ olive oil, garlic, and lemon; butterflied chicken breast w/ Shiner Bock-spiked barbeque sauce and onions...
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Make Your Own: Apple Butter
One of my favorite fall recipes.
So easy! And no added sugar, in case that's an issue.
Here's how to do it...
For every pound of peeled/cored/chopped (prepped) apple, you'll need:
1 cup apple cider
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
[That's it. I used Gala apples and unsweetened cider (all the sugar you need occurs naturally in those two ingredients). I peeled / cored / chopped about 5 pounds of apples, which came to 2 pounds of prepped apple and filled a 4-qt crock pot.]
Put the apple and cider in a slow cooker + turn on high.
Cook the apples just till soft, then turn heat to low.
Add spices.
Cook on low, stirring occasionally, till apples have cooked down + excess liquid evaporated (shift crock pot lid to let steam escape) -- this'll take several hours -- can be done overnight.
You can do this stove-top as well, but you'll need to be more attentive so the apple butter doesn't burn or stick. I hear you can bake it as well, but have never tried that method.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Are You a Zeitgeist Reader?
Once in a while, a cultural experience comes along that I take part in just to be in the know.
Some have led to love affairs, such as reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and watching the first episode of Lost. I tried them just to see what the fuss was about, and wound up loving them.
Some brought on a shrug and a meh, such as watching the first Matrix movie, and 1-1/2 seasons of The Sopranos. I'm glad I tried them, but wasn't compelled to keep going.
The latest shrug/meh combo came from Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. I knew going in I wasn't very interested in masonic history, but I'd enjoyed The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons enough to give it a shot. Then I heard a review (NYT Book Review podcast?) that said what you think the book is about turns out to be a MacGuffin, so I was intrigued. I also wanted to help pump up the initial ebook sales.
Outcome: one good surprise and a lot of transparent tricks. I won't give away the surprise (though it's possible I was the only reader surprised, and I'm not sure what the MacGuffin was), but I'll say Brown's method of getting the reader to turn the page began to make me laugh after the third or fourth time he used it -- seriously, it should be a drinking game. It goes something like: Langdon opened the door and stared, unable to believe what he was looking at. (Chapter break!)
But, it's all good. To each his or her own -- loads of folks loved The Lost Symbol, so good for Dan Brown (and his agent and publisher). I'm glad there are books that create frenzies; I hope they also create new readers.
Do you ever do this -- read or watch or listen to something just to be part of a cultural moment? What was the last one you took part in? What's been your favorite?
New to daily pie? Check out these other posts about reading:
Are You a Social Reader?
Are You a Simul-Reader?
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Monday, October 26, 2009
Same Old, But New, Too
Which is to say: I'm still revising, and adding nifty new chapters, with a goal to finish by November 9. Could be I'll finish before then. At that point, though, we have guests arriving (YAY!!!), so I want to be finished.
I have two scenes to write before I can send Chris the next logical chunk of super-awesome text. (See how I'm keeping my spirits up?) But my brain feels a bit mushy now, so I'm gonna write them tomorrow.
How was everyone's Monday? Did it rain all day where you are, as it did here? Did you have three kinds of soup, as I did? Do you have a Jabba-size pile of laundry to fold, as I do?
*weighs laundry-folding against couch-lounging*
Have I mentioned I got to meet my new nephew a couple weeks ago, while also playing with my niece and catching up with my brother, his wife, and my parents? No? Okay, I'll write about that soon. Because it was awesome.
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Monday, October 12, 2009
November Is Coming
It's that time again. Time to cancel November evening appointments, charge the laptop, and don the viking helmet.
I've added a couple new writing buddies and updated my profile. Now all I have to do is choose a project.
November 1 approaches and with it the possibility of a great new story. DOG-BOY was born in 2006, BRIAR-BOUND (then JACK) in 2007, and DAUGHTER OF THE DEAD in 2008. This year, I have a few choices: revise DOG-BOY, finish DAUGHTER, or start something new and shiny.
Which is what the spirit of NaNo's about. If I play by the suggested rules, I'll begin a completely new story.
I already have an idea for a book set in 1780s Prague that I so want to begin writing. Heck, I wanted to write it last year. There's a good chance we could get to Prague next year, though, so I could wait and let being there inspire the start of that project. Then again, I can easily put my mind back there with some hot tea, a bowl of goulash, and a(nother) viewing of Amadeus.
So I'm totally leaning toward that new story. I just need to hush the voice telling me it'd be a better use of my time to finish or polish an existing project.
Any of you taking part this year? If so, are you starting a new project or continuing an existing one? Feel free to share your NaNo username if you'd like more writing buddies!
[image via NaNoWriMo]
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Thursday, October 8, 2009
Happy Birthday, Dave!
We'll be at Carmen's this evening for tapas and sangria, if anyone wants to help us drain a few pitchers.
What I'll be making before that (here's how)...
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Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Rec: MapMyRun.com
I haven't used this to... map my run... but I have used it to find routes.
The front page is busy, but in the middle is a button that says FIND A RUN.
Using the advanced search options, put in a minimum and maximum distance to narrow the search, and a keyword if it'll help (a lot of our runs have been downtown, so I enter that). Click on Search and presto-presto: routes -- lots of them if you're in a city or any community with lots of runners (I bet Boulder's map database is HUGE).
So, cool tool.
Also cool? The QUARTER-INCH SPLINTER I pulled out of the ball of my foot a few days ago. One I got from the rough edges of our new deck TWO MONTHS AGO and have been RUNNING ON ever since.
You know that scene in Brubaker, where the prisoner gets that gigantic shard of wood stuck in his hand?
Well, it was nothing like that.
But close!
I got it because I slid my bare foot on the deck without thinking. There was a nasty stab and some blood, and I whinged and moaned, and then it started to heal. But then about a week ago, it started hurting again, so of course I picked at. Then I ran 6 miles on it Friday night. And then, when I got home, a quarter-inch splinter of still-rigid treated lumber exited my foot.
I don't know if I'm a bad-ass or a dumb-ass.
You decide! And while you're at it... got any gnarly injuries you wanna share, seein' as how it's just us gnarly-injury-story types who made it all the way through this post?
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Monday, October 5, 2009
Poll: Do Your Projects Have Soundtracks?
For my writing projects, my answer is yes.
For BRIAR-BOUND, I've used Rachel Portman's score for Chocolat.
For DOG-BOY, about a boy in a sideshow, I used a few Cirque du Soleil tunes for their carnival atmosphere, and George Winston's Plains album to evoke the Depression-era setting (including the great "Merry Go Round", which does both).
For DAUGHTER OF THE DEAD, I used a mix that begins with "Guilty" (Amélie soundtrack), then adds Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss, and k.d. lang's amazing Hymns of the 49th Parallel cover album.
I try to match the music to a project by mood or time period. Once I've heard a particular soundtrack a few times, I almost stop hearing it; it retreats to the background and feeds my mind as I write. As such, a soundtrack can get me in the right mindframe to write immediately. I become attached to them, too. I'm dying to return to DAUGHTER because I love the soundtrack as much as the characters.
I've heard that some writers use the same music to write to, no matter the project -- driving music that gets them pumped up and keeps them productive. I've heard others say they can't listen to music with lyrics while writing, and others who say they need absolute silence.
I imagine folks use music (or avoid it) for any number of creative projects, from writing or sculpting to painting the guest bedroom.
Do you? Have different projects required very distinct soundtracks, or does one mix put you in the creative mood, no matter your project? Do lyrics distract you? Do they inspire you? Do you wear gigantor headphones (like mine, pictured above) or earbuds, or use speakers?
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