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Showing posts from January, 2017

What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...

Regency White Soup

There is a line in Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Bingley is talking about the ball he plans to host at Netherfield: “If you mean Darcy," cried her brother, "he may go to bed, if he chooses, before it begins—but as for the ball, it is quite a settled thing; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough, I shall send round my cards.” I then found these two fascinating articles on white soup from the Jane Austen Centre and the Austenonly blog . I decided to try making it! I followed the recipe from the book by John Farley, published in 1811, The London Art of Cookery and Domestic Housekeepers' Complete Assistant : uniting the principles of elegance, taste, and economy : and adapted to the use of servants, and families of every description . You can download the scan of the original book from the link. Here’s the original recipe: White Soup. PUT a knuckle of veal into six quarts of water, with a large fowl, a pound of lean bacon, half a pound of rice, two ...

Dog sweater/villains

It’s cold here in California! We need the rain but my poor dog is getting older and seems to feel the cold more this year. I’m making her a dog sweater using 3-color Tunisian crochet and the general dimensions of this dog sweater pattern on LionBrand.com . On the writing front, I’m working on the 2nd book in my Lady Wynwood series and trying to figure out my villain. I find I go to movies, TV, and novels for inspiration—I think real-life “bad guys” are too complex, psychologically, for me to use as fictional inspiration. Do you have favorite villains in movies, TV, or fiction? I could use some ideas.

Happy New Year!

Yeah, it’s been a while since I last posted but I assure you, I am not dead. :) I decided to jump-start my running again, and since I don’t run consistently if I’m not training for an event, I signed up for the 2017 Honolulu Marathon. It’s going to be harder this time since I’ve gained so much weight since the last time I ran (maybe 10 pounds?) and I have to take care of my ankle, which I sprained at the last marathon in 2010 and it still has a bit of scar tissue. However, I’m going to a chiropractor about that and my ankle seems to be doing well. I’m also armed with KT Tape and Rock Tape, Phiten discs, ankle wrap, and massage cream. Please send a prayer for me that I can be consistent in my training and not get (more) injured. I’m getting The Spinster’s Christmas translated into Japanese! I was able to hire a woman from my church who is a professional translator, and she is doing about a chapter every 2 weeks. Now I have to figure out how to format an ebook in Japanese, with vert...