It's 3:30 a.m. as I type this, December 31, 2010.

This year? Kind of sucked.

Not just for me. This year kind of sucked for just about everyone I love.

Breakups. Financial disaster. Deaths. Career turmoil. Health problems, family drama(s), dysfunction like you wouldn't believe.

For me personally: 2010 turned out to be the hardest year of my entire life. And that's saying something, since 2009 was excruciatingly painful and, until 2010, had been the hardest year of my entire life.

There are many, many reasons for this, none of which I speak of publicly.

But here's something I feel sort of comfortable talking about, and that is how 2010 was the year I decided I wanted to be done with the whole published author gig.

People who know me weren't shocked by this decision. People who really know me know that this was a decision a long time coming.

Rewind: Joe's birthday, 2008. I'd agreed to appear at a bookstore fundraiser for a public library (which, if you think about it, is a little twisted in and of itself). They stuck me in the cookbook section and left me alone. No one so much as talked to me for 90 minutes. I needed to use the bathroom but wasn't supposed to leave my table until someone was there to cover it for me. Eventually the need to pee won out over the need to follow the rules. When I got back to the table, I realized I had 90 minutes left on my shift. I looked at a group of kids walk past me to play Guitar Hero at the station set up behind me, packed my bag, and left.

On the long ride home - because of course this freebie thing had to be 60 miles away - I started thinking, "I hate this crap." I hate agreeing to appear at lame fundraisers where my presence is unnecessary or even useful. I hate driving two hours to sit in a booth at a book fair that no one attends. I hate driving three hours to teach workshops at libraries where the person organizing the event neglects to publicize it and three kids show up and write scary poems about cutting themselves and then stare blankly at me when I express concern over their general well-being.

I should've spent the day baking a cake for my then-boyfriend (now fiance). Instead, I spent it feeling humiliated and bitter and resentful.

There are people who get really, really angry when I say things like this. Most of them are struggling writers who think, "You've published six books. One of them got made into a Lifetime movie that still airs bimonthly. For some reason, the Dutch love your novels. So why are you complaining about any of it?"

For the record: I am not complaining.

FACT: Being a working author is maybe 15% about the writing. The other 85% is mostly selling yourself to people in one form or another, through your blog, emails, listserv postings, conference appearances, signings, library things, school visits, etc. It is exhausting.

FACT: Being a successful working author requires an enormous amount of networking (much of which falls into the tush-kissing category), self promotion (see above), and trying to come up with ideas for books that are both commercial and literary and will get your publishers excited to work with you.

FACT: Being a lower midlist author (which, let's face it, is pretty much what I was for 90% of my career as a working writer) means feeling inadequate the majority of the time, praying for shelf/review space, and having to swallow editorial advice like "Do you think you could add a C Plot involving two teachers in love, like in CLUELESS?" All while still trying to sell yourself and kiss tushies and write books that will appeal to consumers who adore vampire books with excessive adverbs.

To repeat: I am not complaining. I am simply stating my perceptions, based on nine years of experience.

Complaining would mean that I was saying all of this while still trying to make it as a working writer.

I am not.

Last spring I became what is referred to as a Career Changer - someone who wakes up one day, realizes she can't stand what she does, and decides to do something different. For me, this manifested in my job at the International Reading Association, where I am a membership specialist. This means I do a lot of stuff to attract new members and keep the existing ones happy. Currently I do a good deal of copywriting, which I really enjoy, and there are a lot of cool, creative things coming down the pipeline. Ironically, no matter how much I despise having to market myself, I'm really good at marketing other people and organizations I believe in (IRA being one of them).

The icing on this cupcake is that IRA's offices are so close to UD's main campus that I get to teach one creative writing workshop each semester. Teaching creative writing is the thing that truly feeds my soul, as cliched as that sounds. I love my students. I love encouraging their talent. I love seeing them develop as writers. I love the days that I go into that classroom and laugh so hard I cry.

This is also why I teach creative writing classes at the Brandywine Y. Well, that and the free gym membership.

Anyway.

I still write. Not every day, or even every week, but I do write. I'm working on a deeply personal adult novel. What I have so far is really good. It makes me remember why I wanted to be a writer in the first place.

But, I don't have any books under contract, nor am I trying to secure any new contracts. And that makes me oddly happy.

Tonight I climbed into bed with E. Lockhart's REAL LIVE BOYFRIENDS, the fourth installment in the Ruby Oliver series. Emily is one of my favorite writers, and this book? It's amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting. I cried at the end. When I came to the last page, I thought, "This book makes me wish I were a better writer." That's pretty much the highest compliment I can pay to any author I admire.

So here's the thing: thinking that made me wonder why I didn't work harder to be a better writer to begin with. In the beginning, before I sold anything, writing was everything to me. I poured blood on the page. I would hole up, cancel plans with friends, and write so long the sun would set and I would be like, "Huh, it's nine o'clock? Maybe I should think about dinner."

After I sold books, got published, and realized what it meant to be a working writer, a lot of that changed. I didn't love writing so much. I agonized over having to do it. Deadlines were my main driving force. That and needing money to pay my bills. The joy? Gone.

There are some things I enjoyed more than others. Writing the first Starlet book - that was probably the most fun I had writing anything. I'm still really proud of that book, despite the dated pop culture references. And I had a great time revising THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON, but the first draft was murder and fraught with behind-the-scenes drama in both my personal life and my professional one.

Before I decided to go to graduate school but after I left my crappy job at the crappy paper in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I had a meeting with my mentor and friend Cruce Stark. During this meeting he said something that I will never, ever forget. He said, "Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to do it." He was referring to journalism, but as I agonized over whether or not I wanted to continue being a working writer I kept hearing those same words over and over and over.

I'm a good writer. I'm not a great one. I might have eventually become a great one, if I'd wanted it enough.

Except, I didn't. Want it, that is.

So now I work in membership for a professional organization devoted to literacy, and I run creative writing workshops for college kids and adult hobbyists, and I spend a lot of time cooking delicious things with my fiance, watching too much television, volunteering for the Girl Scouts, and petting my dog. And these things make me really, really happy.

Several months ago, I said to my mom, "If my biggest complaint is that I don't have enough time to see all of the people I care about who care about me, then in the grand scheme of things, that's not so much a problem as it is a privilege." Meaning, I'm lucky that there are so many people I care about who care about me, even if we don't talk or see each other as much as we'd like.

And it's not like I'm never going to write another thing. I just spent 77 minutes writing this blog post. My essay, "Informed Consent," will be included in the DEAR BULLY anthology HarperCollins is putting out in the fall, which is something I'm really excited about. Plus I really am working on an adult novel, and I really do believe it's some of the best writing I've ever done.

Maybe I'll publish it, but then again, maybe I won't. And I'm okay with that. I'm beyond okay with that.

As for 2011: I'm hoping it's better than 2010, not just for me but for all of the people in my life who've been struggling with unspeakable things.

For me, personally, I feel like 2011 is already better. Because I'm more sure of who I am than I've ever been, and there's something to be said for that.

There's a lot of muck that still needs to be sorted through. And my house is still a hot cluttery mess that could seriously benefit from me hiring a housekeeper. I still want to lose another 80 pounds, still want to finish the craft room that's been 3+ years in the making, still want to create a filing system that makes sense and puts every paper in its place. I'm still not entirely sure how I plan on accomplishing all of the above while maintaining personal relationships and working three or more jobs.

But.

As I look forward to the year ahead, I am hopeful. This person I am? I like her. I like her a lot. I want to like her even more, and I want to spend the next 365 days doing things that will help me achieve this goal. To be the best Lara I can possibly be, and to focus on the things that actually make me happy instead of things that are supposed to make me happy.

Changing careers was a major step in that direction.

The rest?

I'll just have to wait and see.


/navel gazing

Usually for Christmas my mom drives to this small candy shop in Southern Jersey to buy us all pounds of chocolate-covered oyster crackers. But they're super pricey, so this year both of us tried to figure out how to make them ourselves (independent of one another). Couldn't find a good recipe for that, but we both stumbled upon recipes for Saltine Candy. In the spirit of full disclosure, I haven't actually made this yet. But my mom did, for Christmas, and I'm making it Friday to bring to a New Year's Eve party. IT IS SO FRAKKIN' GOOD. Almost as good as the matzoh crunch we make at Passover.

Saltine Candy

INGREDIENTS

Nonstick spray
40 saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

PREPARATION

Line jelly roll pan (9” x 13”) with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Lay crackers out flat on foil. Do not overlap.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and sugar together until foamy (about 3 minutes). Pour over crackers and spread with spatula to coat.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

After removing pan from oven, sprinkle chocolate chips over baked layer. Let soften and melt, then spread to cover the entire top.

While chocolate is still soft, sprinkle nuts over top and press in lightly.

Let cool and refrigerate until hardened.

I've posted this recipe before, but every time I mention it (or make them), more people ask. I realized that we've modified the recipe since the first time I posted it, so here is the NEW version, which is just about perfect by our standards. Enjoy!

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ tsp. fine sea salt (kosher okay if you don't have fine sea salt)
1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (original recipe calls for 1 cup semi-sweet, 1 cup white - we find that too sweet and prefer this)
1 lb. thin (read: CHEAP) bacon

PREPARATION:

Roast bacon in 375 degree oven until nice and crisp. Drain on paper towels, then pulse in food processor until in semi-fine, smallish bits (but not paste).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together the butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until creamy. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together. Dough will be slightly soft.

Add in chocolate chips and bacon bits. Stir until well integrated. Place dough on a sheet of waxed paper and refrigerate at least an hour.

Remove dough from fridge, pinch off 1½ inch pieces of dough and roll into balls. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls slightly with your fingers in the center.

Bake cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown.

[NOTE: This dough freezes well. Roll into logs in waxed paper and twist ends before sealing in a freezer bag. When you’re ready to make the cookies, slice off log and bake as above. Cook times for frozen dough varies; check on them after 10 minutes and gauge from there.]

I know I've been really bad about blogging (and answering email, and seeing my family, and just about everything else in the world), but life has been absolutely bonkers! My plate is so full, I'm like that really obnoxious woman at Old Country Buffet whose platter's piled so high the biscuits start falling off as she toddles back to her table.

Anyway.

Does anyone remember the very last scene of the series finale of SEX & THE CITY? Carrie reunites with Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte, and the four of them start walking down a NYC sidewalk, arms linked, while "You Got the Love" swells in the background? It made me bawl like a baby, because it reminded me how powerful good female friendships can be. You know, this one:



Here are some of the lyrics:

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you

Sometimes I feel like saying, "Lord, I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need to see me through

Sometimes I see that the boy is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now it feels like life is just too much
You've got the love I need to see me through

Actually, I'd never realized this before, but it's kind of a Christian R&B song, because the next part goes like this:

When food is gone
You are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know
My savior's love is real
Your love is real

Huh.

Anyway, this week, I was reminded of how much my girlfriends keep me sane, and how lost I'd be without them. They are my saviors. They're the ones I can count on when I'm totally imploding. The ones who tell me to just walk away when I spent two hours trying to make a Girl Scout green cooked frosting that ends up looking like the Incredible Hulk had diarrhea in my Mario Batali mixing bowl. The ones who talk me through tears, who remind me that I will get through this, because I always get through this (whatever "this" may be).

So, yeah.

Ladies, I love you. You are my sisters.

I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I come from a long line of brunettes - dark chocolately brunettes who, due to the nature of pigmentation, start to go gray anywhere from 16 (my mother) to 20 (me). In the beginning, I had a lone silver hair or two that I would viciously pluck. But as they multiplied, and vanity kicked in, I started to dye them.

The first time I dyed my hair, I was fourteen years old and about to enter my sophomore year in high school (yeah, I was a little young for my grade - that's what happens when you have a January birthday). I dyed it black to be like my then-idol, Winona Ryder. Coal black is not the most flattering color on a sallow-skinned teenager with too many zits; it didn't help that I avoided the sun at all costs that summer so as to try to cultivate a creamy, pale Winona-esque skin tone (but again: nature wasn't on my side there, as I have that Eastern European yellow-ness that often leaves people guessing that I'm Hispanic - ironic because I look more Hispanic than my half-Mexican fiance). I remember my classmates at the small private school I attended from fourth through tenth grades commenting on the black hair as a sign of "rebelliousness," which was of course what I was going for but in hindsight seems kind of childish of me.

Anyway, in college I played with various shades of red, running the gamut from a coppery brown to a dark, hennaed Lucille Ball kind of hue (this happened when I was in London, of all places, after I got a crazy short haircut - well, short for me, shorter than I'd ever had it before - and Lauren convinced me I needed to go BOLD). But, eventually I grew out of wanting to play with color and went back to my (literal) roots and started dyeing my hair to match the chocolately brown that surrounded an increasing number of stray grays.

The older I got, the more gray sprouted through - and when you have almost-black hair naturally, you can really see those grays. Plus, I have very fine, very thin hair, and the grays come through coarse and wiry. So about every three months, I would hit the bottle and wipe out my stubborn grays.

Then, this summer, I ended up landing the interview that got me my new job. The night before my first interview, I'd planned on dyeing my hair, but a series of events unfolded that kept me from doing so (including a wardrobe crisis, but that's another post for another day). So I didn't dye it, and it made me feel weird and self-conscious.

Color me surprised when every single woman I interviewed with that day had decided to go gray gracefully. And they all looked lovely and natural and like they had more important and/or fun things to do with their time than worry about pigmentation. I'd decided it was kind of fortuitous that I hadn't had the time to touch up my roots, and made a conscious decision not to dye my hair prior to the follow-up interview. And hey - I'm pretty sure that's not why I got the job, but I didn't want to mess with a good thing. So I stayed dye-free.

Only then I entered into this new "shortest-hair-of-my-life" phase (or, as my mom likes to call it, "practically bald"). It's more of an ultra-short pixie cut, actually, created in part to correct a botched haircut I got in September that left me with a mullet. Fun fact: most of my botched haircuts leave me with mullets, or at the very least, an uglier version of Mrs. Brady's shag. Anyway, Dorothy at the Hair Cuttery in College Square Shopping Center (who's fabulous, by the way - request her by name), helped me get rid of the mullet but the result was this ultra-short pixie. I liked the cut, because it's really easy to take care of, but best of all IT'S NOT A MULLET.

However.

Ultra-short pixie cuts reveal just HOW many grays a girl like me has. I had to keep plucking one particularly wiry strand that was determined to stick straight up on my head. I cringed every time I saw silver in the mirror. I'm still a few months shy of my 35th birthday, and I'm already growing more and more conscious of the wrinkle between my brows, and small, faint crow's feet creeping out from the corner's of my eyes.

I debated the dye issue for weeks and weeks. Joe kept saying not to dye it, but there's always a part of me who's suspicious of his "beauty" advice because of his precarious position as my fiance (i.e., if he encourages the dye, he's telling me that I look old and haggard; if he encourages me not to dye, he could be doing it so that I don't accuse him of thinking I look old and haggard, and not because he actually likes it). Someone else close to me made a comment about how "distinguished" the grays looked, and that was pretty much the nail in the coffin. I'm 34. I still call myself a "girl." I am not yet ready to look "distinguished."

So yesterday I bit the bullet, and slathered on some Feria in a dark brown with reddish-gold undertones. I liked it for about all of five minutes before realizing that I kind of sort of missed my grays.

And thus is the paradoxical nature of being a woman, right?

Or maybe it's just me being me.

Justyn had been raving about Nana Sherry's Cuban Black Beans and Corn Pudding ever since Christmas, when Joe and I attempted to make a corn pudding that was just ... not good. So, I asked her for the recipe. She got the black beans recipe from a native Cuban, so I'm guessing they're pretty authentic. They're super tasty and this recipe yields a ton! I ended up making them in a slow cooker (tips on conversion below). But also? That corn pudding? Joe and I were fighting over who got to lick the pan. Of course, it does have two entire sticks of butter in it ... Enjoy!

Nana Sherry's Cuban Black Beans

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. dried black beans
2 ham shanks OR smoked pork shoulder
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large stalk of celery, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
Yellow rice (optional)
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Minced onion (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

PREPARATION

The night before, put dried beans in a stockpot and cover with boiling water to about 3 inches above the beans. Cover.

In the morning, drain the beans into the colander and rinse with cold water until it runs clear.

In the stockpot, place the ham shanks (or smoked pork shoulder – but ham shank is cheaper and will give the stock more flavor) and cover with water to about 2 inches above. Cook on medium heat for 2 ½ to 3 hours. Test meat with a fork; if it goes through easily it is done. Remove meat from broth and set aside to cool.

Add to the broth the onions, celery, sugar, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, salt, dry mustard, garlic powder, oregano, bay leaf, and drained beans. Cook over medium heat for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

While beans are cooking, remove the bones from the shanks as well as any excessive fat. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces.

When beans are done, add meat and heat to boiling. Cook for 10 minutes and check for seasoning; depending on the ham you may need to add more salt.

Serve on a bed of yellow rice garnished with cheddar, minced onion, and sour cream. Best with Corn Pudding (recipe follows).

[NOTE: I made these on a work night, so I decided to translate the recipe into my slow cooker. I soaked the beans in boiling water overnight and chopped all of the vegetables before bed. In the morning, I put those on the bottom of the slow cooker, nestled in the ham shanks, covered with water, added the broth stuff, and then poured the beans on top of everything. Put it on low for 8 hours. When I came home, I fished the shanks out, removed the bones (they'd all but fallen out of the shank), and tried to harvest some genuine meat (the shanks I used were mostly skin and bone). Then I let the whole thing stay on Warm while I made the yellow rice (a package mix from Goya) and Corn Pudding (below). Easy peasy!]

Corn Pudding

INGREDIENTS

2 sticks butter
2 eggs
1 can creamed-style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, un-drained
1 package Jiffy corn bread mix
1 small can green chilies, drained
1 cup sour cream

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the two eggs. Add in the canned corn (both kinds), corn bread mix, chilies, and sour cream. Mix well.

Melt two sticks of butter and add to mixture and pour into an ungreased 13 x 9” pan. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour.

Can be made ahead and refrigerated before baking or baked immediately.

[ANOTHER NOTE: Nana Sherry's recipe calls for 1/3 cup of sugar added to the Jiffy mix, but I thought the Corn Pudding was sweet enough without it. However, that is her original recipe, so I wanted to make note here.]

[LAST NOTE: Joe and I like food with heat, so even though the Cuban Black Beans were mighty tasty as is, we ended up adding some more cayenne, some more oregano, and a little cumin. Also, the next time I make this I'm probably going to double the celery and maybe spring for a small smoked pork shoulder (also known as a pork butt). I think if I use a shank to get the marrow flavor in the liquid but use the pork shoulder to get some meat into this puppy, it will be even more substantial. Oh, and by the way? This makes enough to feed a freaking army. We ate the beans for three days straight and still had at least half leftover to freeze. The rice and corn pudding were done after three meals, though, so when I defrost the beans I'll need to remake them.]

Unless Bella was backed by her army of bloodsuckers, the answer is clearly Katniss.

That's why I found it amusing when this week's EW posed the question, "Is This the Next TWILIGHT?" (The "this" being THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, of course.) There's a cute blue call out that says "A Trilogy Takes Off!" in some kind of font leftover from the late '70s. EW bases their valuation on the number of copies MOCKINGJAY, the third installment in Suzanne Collins's bestselling trilogy, moved its first week. They quote the incomparable David Levithan as saying, "Book 3 was the breakthrough book for HARRY POTTER and TWILIGHT, too. We're hitting right on schedule."

And okay, I get that EW is really making a comparison based on book sales, Hollywood adaptations, and fan reaction to both series. But as someone who absolutely loved THE HUNGER GAMES and positively loathed TWILIGHT, I still take offense.

In response, I decided to offer three major reasons why THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy is nothing like the TWILIGHT one:

1. Suzanne Collins can actually write. I read an interview with Stephanie Meyer (in, EW, actually), where the author says something like, "I'm a storyteller, not a writer," and then went on to say how she was trying to learn to be a better writer. And for about thirteen seconds, I felt bad for her. There has been a ton of ink spilled about just how bad a writer Meyer truly is, and even I can admit that the premise for the TWILIGHT books is sexy and appealing to teens. But then I remembered that she's a gajillionaire, and my empathy went out the window.

I often quote TWILIGHT in my creative writing classes as examples of what not to do. My favorite is using it to illustrate that concept that adverbs are not your friends. I say, "If two people are having a conversation, you really don't need to use the word 'conversationally' in the speech tag. 'Blah blah blah,' she said, conversationally. Really? They're having a conversation and she said it conversationally? Oh, well, that totally changes my perception."

2. Katniss Everdeen doesn't need a boyfriend to feel good about herself. I could probably tolerate the bad writing in TWILIGHT if the story itself was good enough. But I'm someone who's very attracted to character-driven novels, and I. Hate. Bella. Swan. From the very first installment, Bella is portrayed as kind of a sad-sack beyotch who gets annoyed because there's a girl at her new school that really wants to be her friend (Jessica) and a boy who really wants to date her (Mike). And then, of course, she falls for Edward, and it's EDWARD EDWARD EDWARD until the book is over. Then I made the mistake of reading NEW MOON, in which Bella spends most of the novel in a deep, deep depression because she can't be with Edward. And when I say most of the book, I'm talking hundreds of pages of moping, not wanting to leave the house, not wanting to do ANYTHING except weep over WHY, EDWARD, WHY?

Katniss Everdeen would rather shoot an arrow into her own head than engage in that kind of behavior. While there was a lot of debate amongst fans over Team Gale or Team Peeta, Katniss herself cared more about the boys' friendship than whether or not they were going to take her to the prom. She was more concerned about making sure their families were safe than whether or not she would age faster than her BF. And granted, THE HUNGER GAMES is set in a postapocalyptic world instead of a rainy one infested with evil vampires, less-evil vamps, and nice Native Americans who turn into werewolves, but still. Katniss doesn't define herself by any boy, and that is a heroine worthy of admiration.

3. Katniss Everdeen can kick some serious ass. One of the things I like best about Katniss is that she's strong - not just physically but mentally and emotionally. Yes, her stubbornness often causes unnecessary grief and drama. But hi, at least she stands up for what she believes in. She's got conviction. She's got character. And even though she's bad at accepting help or taking a more passive role when all she wants to do is to leap into action, she usually ends up doing the right thing.

Back to Bella: the whole time I read TWILIGHT I couldn't understand why she didn't just become a vampire herself. It's clear that she wants to be one, but it's equally clear that Edward does not want her to become one. And so she doesn't, not for a long, long time. She only gets her wish when Edward begrudgingly grants it, and even then he does so because her life is in danger.

To me, Bella is sort of a typical damsel in distress, always needing Edward or Jacob or their merry band of vamps/wolves to save her. Whereas Katniss is usually the one doing the saving, or at the very least, helping to cook up a plan for a group to save themselves.

Okay, Twihards - flame on!

... Kelly Quinones Miller!

Kelly, wrote: "The only way I can achieve balance (on any day) is to delegate. I used to feel that something was wrong with me if I couldn't, literally, do it all. But I've come to realize there's strength (and necessity) in sharing the burdens. I decide what I really need/want to do myself, and I ask others to help me with the rest. It's changed my life!"

Kelly wins an autographed copy of JUST ADD MAGIC, lots of JUST ADD MAGIC goodies (including bookmarks, recipe cards, and wooden spoons), and an autographed PB of THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON.*

Thanks, Kelly, and for everyone who entered!


*Full disclosure: Kelly and I went to grad school together at Emerson. But CINDY picked the winner, and she didn't know that about Kelly until AFTER she picked her.

All week, my friend and debut author Cindy Callaghan has been blogging here at "Girl Uninterrupted" to celebrate the release of her new book, JUST ADD MAGIC.

Originally, Cindy and I had talked about Friday's post being a sort of run-down of a "Day in the Life" of a busy working mom/author. But alas, Cindy got snowed under with non-author-y job stuff and didn't have the time to work in an extra post.

This got me thinking about balance, and how bad I am at achieving it. I marvel at how adept Cindy is at juggling all of her various commitments: she has a husband and three very active kids, a full-time non-writing job, volunteer work, AND she coaches soccer for her daughter's team. This in addition to the author stuff. Plus, Cindy is one of the most prolific writers I know; she writes constantly and is already doing a polish edit on her second book.

So, the prize pack part:

Leave a comment either on LiveJournal or Facebook with your best tip for achieving balance in a busy day. Enter by 11:59 p.m. this Saturday, October 16th for your chance to win:

• Autographed copy of JUST ADD MAGIC


• Lots of JUST ADD MAGIC goodies, including bookmarks, recipe cards, and wooden spoons


• Autographed paperback of THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON

Cindy will pick the winner, which will be announced on Monday.

Congratulations, Cindy Callaghan! You are a true inspiration.

You can read all of Cindy’s guest posts here. Also: Cindy will have some upcoming appearances in DE and NJ - so be sure to check her blog and mine for more info!

All week long, “Girl Uninterrupted” is celebrating the release of Cindy Callaghan’s JUST ADD MAGIC, a humorous middle grade mystery starring the adorable Kelly Quinn and her quirky friends and family. You can read Cindy’s other guest posts here.

Cindy’s Tips for Writing & Selling Your First Book

Welcome to the World According to Callaghan. Oh, what a world that would be! Seriously, though, I do have five sure-fire tips that I would like to share with you aspiring writers out there:

Cook Up a Well-Written Story

And by well-written, I don’t just mean a good book (thought obviously you need that – more on this below). By well-written I mean well written, which includes all of the basics: spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting. You can have the most genius idea in the world, but if you aren’t adhering to the traditional grammar rules and you’re buried in typos, no one will take you seriously. This lesson took me a very long time to learn. I am a terrible typist and an awful proof-reader, and even though I was an English major, I make LOTS of spelling and grammatical errors. I really try not to, but it takes a tremendous amount of effort.

Cook up a Well-Told Story

To me, a well-told story has a unique idea populated with rich, colorful characters involved in an interesting or intriguing plot. These three things are huge so I want to say them again:

• A unique story idea (“or concept”)


• Rich, colorful characters


• An interesting and intriguing plot

How you gather these ingredients is really up to you, and no blog post (or book, or class, or anything) can give you step-by-step instructions for coming up with a hot concept, great characters, or a pot-boiling plot. I do think feedback from a safe critique group and/or a professional editor is crucial to creating both a well-written and well-told story.

Let Your Story Simmer

This is the hardest part. If you’re like me, the minute you’ve finished a story, you want to get it out there. But, like a rich stew or tender pot roast, your book needs time to cook. This is especially important for first-time writers, like I was. Finishing a novel draft is a huge accomplishment, but it marks the beginning, not the end, of the process. You must revise, revise, revise. Again, here’s where that critique group or professional editor comes in handy. Keep revising until your book is as good as you’re going to get it, and then get it ready to send out.

Concoct a Well-Pitched Query

A strong query letter and synopsis are needed. These two documents are often very short, but can take an eternity to write. That’s okay. It’s really important that they are very tight and polished. I had my query and synopsis critiqued several times before it was ready to send out. Many articles about writing query letters are available on the Internet, but keep in mind what I said about letting your story simmer: you only have one chance to make a first impression, so don’t blow it. Take your time putting together the right query letter and right pitch/synopsis. You’ll be glad you did.

Check, please!

Even though kidlit is one of the few areas where you can still sell a novel without representing, you really need an agent (especially if you REALLY want that baby to sell). Once you have a solid project to shop around, consider attending conferences (like the ones offered by SCBWI). This is the route I went, and even though my agent asked me to revise JUST ADD MAGIC, once she agreed to represent me my book sold in a matter of weeks. I’m not sure that’s something I could’ve done on my own.

Finally, this isn’t a tip so much as a word of encouragement: the secret ingredient is persistence. Before I sold JUST ADD MAGIC, I wrote a full adult novel, several partial drafts of other novels, and even some picture books. I didn’t send all of these out or even try to get them published, but I wrote, wrote, wrote and never stopped writing. I’m very quick at banging out first drafts, and I write a lot — even with my family, a full-time job, volunteer work, and a soccer team I coach — but part of the reason I write so much is because I make the time to do so. Writing is one of the only things I do just for me, and I wanted to publish a novel. So I did whatever I could, whenever I could, to make my dream a reality. It didn’t take magic so much as a lot of good old-fashioned hard work. (Though my Super Swirleys didn’t hurt, either!)

Come back tomorrow for the chance to win a JUST ADD MAGIC prize pack (which includes a paperback copy of THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON, also released this week)!

All week, we’re celebrating the release of JUST ADD MAGIC by Cindy Callaghan, my former writing student and still dear friend. JUST ADD MAGIC is Cindy’s first novel, a humorous middle grade mystery about the sweet-and-sassy Kelly Quinn and a secret cooking club she and her friends form. You can read all about the book here and how Cindy got it published here.

Bowl Me Over Chocolate Brownie Super Swirley (from JUST ADD MAGIC)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of chocolate fudge ice cream
1 cup hot fudge sauce
1 large brownie, cut into chunks
4 pieces homemade Amish fudge – regular, if you can’t find Amish — cut into chunks
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
Whipped cream (optional)

PREPARATION

Remove ice cream from freezer and place into blender. Let stand until it’s the consistency of soft serve. (Some microwaves have a nifty feature that will do this for you, but make sure you use a microwave-safe bowl to zap it.)

Gently heat hot fudge sauce until it’s warm but not boiling or too liquid-y. Add to blender. Pulse until it’s incorporated and mixture has loosened up some.

Add the chunks of brownie and fudge as well as the semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Pulse until they’re mixed in but NOT pulverized. You can do this step by hand, too, if you prefer.

Pour into two tall glasses, top with whipped cream, and serve with large straws and long spoons.

Super Swirleys are a very important part of this story, not just because taste totally delicious, but because of what they mean. Having a Swirley with your gal pal is like saying, "You. Me. Sitting. Talking. Together. Right now." I think that's important because we don't do that enough. So, invite a pal over and share a Super Swirley today!

Tomorrow, Cindy will share her tips for aspiring writers. See you then!

Today continues a week-long series of guest blogging posts by Cindy Callaghan, whose first MG novel, JUST ADD MAGIC, was released today! You can order the book here, here, here, or here. And you can read yesterday’s post here.



Cooking Up a Little Mystery: My Book from Concept to Contract
By Cindy Callaghan

It all started with an idea. I thought it was a pretty darn cool and original idea: A SECRET COOKING CLUB.

Think about it:

• COOKING – Who doesn’t love a little fun in the kitchen?


• A CLUB – Who doesn’t want to be part of a cool club?


• SHH … IT’S A SECRET – I mean, hello? It’s got to be better than any old club if it’s secret, right? All the best stuff in the world is secret. That’s why it’s a secret, because it’s awesome, right?

And I had a name: Kelly Quinn. I knew that her name was going to be Kelly Quinn, but I didn’t know much else about her, except that she would have a friend who rollerbladed and her mom would be supercool (you know, the kind of mom I am.

I wrote the original first draft of JUST ADD MAGIC in about six weeks.

Then, I rewrote it for months. I’m part of a critique group, which is a very important part of my writing. They critiqued JUST ADD MAGIC over and over and over. And I edited it based on their comments. My dad read countless drafts. I kept rewriting.

Finally, I thought it was ready to send to a literary agent. But, since I only had one chance to make a first impression, I hired a professional editor. Once I received the editor’s comments, I pulled the manuscript apart again and sewed it back together. It took about a year before I thought it was ready to send out to literary agents.

I spent a lot of time on the Internet researching agents. I wanted a small highly targeted list. I did this in a few ways. I looked at books I thought had a similar personality to mine, and tried to find out who represented those authors. I also looked at who was speaking at SCBWI conferences because I thought they’d be open to reading manuscripts. I also looked at literary agencies and carefully researched what types of genres each agent was interested in. I made my list which included Greenhouse Literary Agency.

Enter the query letter: I toiled over the query for weeks trying to get it just right. I sent out my submissions adhering to each agent’s individual specifications. I heard back from Sarah Davies (founder of Greenhouse) almost immediately, requesting the entire manuscript. In her email I think she wrote, “Don’t get too excited.” But, I did anyway.

Just a few days later, we connected on the phone. She liked the story, but identified areas where it needed work. However, she was willing to work with me on the revisions.
So, once again, with Sarah’s advice and encouragement, I reworked the story. I sent it back to her about three months later on a Sunday night. By ten o’clock Monday morning she called me to tell me that she wanted to represent it.

Things really took off there. Sarah pitched it very quickly and we had a bite from Aladdin, which was what Sarah called “the perfect home for JUST ADD MAGIC.” And that’s exactly where the book ended up!

Come back tomorrow for "Recipe of the Week," when Cindy shares her recipe for Super Swirleys , which are prominently featured in JUST ADD MAGIC.

So, some of you may remember me telling you that Cindy Callaghan, one of my earliest students from the Brandywine YMCA writing classes, sold her first novel in the not-so-distant past. JUST ADD MAGIC (Aladdin 2010) is an adorable, humorous middle grade mystery that comes out THIS WEEK (tomorrow, to be exact - and there's a sample chapter on its Amazon page). In honor of her awesome achievement, and in honor of THE SWEET LIFE WITH STELLA MADISON’s paperback release (which falls on the same day – October 12th), I asked Cindy if she’d be interested in doing a little guest blogging. Here’s her first post!

Here’s a Story of a Lovely Tweenager…
By Cindy (“Not Brady”) Callaghan

I am totally psyched for a week all about JUST ADD MAGIC. But first things first: What's this book all about?

While cleaning the attic one day, Kelly Quinn, a curious sixth grader with a passion for cooking, finds a book of secret recipes bearing a warning: Beware of the Law of Returns. Using the book, Kelly starts a cooking club with her best friends, clumsy roller-skating Darbie and fashionista soccer star Hannah. The dishes from the book are delish, but they seem linked to strange occurrences at home, at school and on the soccer field.

Coincidence? Kelly Quinn’s theory: There is no such thing as coincidence. So, she devises an experiment involving a certain sixth-grade hottie. Unfortunately, things backfire in a big way. Kelly and her friends try to return life to normal, but their efforts are complicated by an annoying little brother, know-it-all Charlotte (blah!) Barney, and soccer team tryouts. Just when the girls think they have everything under control, they don’t (of course).



And just look at this cover - you can't tell me that this chick isn't just super cute.

Come back tomorrow to read about how JUST ADD MAGIC came into being.

When Joe and I were cleaning out the jungle room today, I found one page of a story I started writing my junior year in high school. It's so old-school, it's printed in dot matrix. Anyway, what surprised me about it was that 1) it's not entirely horrible, 2) it's almost entirely autobiographical, and 3) it made me remember things I'd forgotten way back when I was 16. I preserved the typos because ... well, I don't know why. Because I felt like I should? At any rate, enjoy!

I met Steven Reynolds at the beginning of my Junior year in high school. He sat in front of me in Pre-Calculus (his best subject and my worst.) Steve was such a crack-up, always making me laugh. And he was smart! So smart that he made my head spin. Sensing that I was lost in the realm of imaginary numbers, Steve offered to help me find my way out. And so, within a week, he became my tutor. And within a month, he became my best friend.

And then, three nights ago, he became something more.

I still don't know how it happened. A bunch of us had gone out to the movies and then for burgers. Steve offered to give me a ride home. I accepted.

We sat in his car, in front of my house, for about an hour, just listening to the radio and talking about all sorts of dumb stuff, just like we always had in the past. It was a pretty spring night, and the air smelled so sweet and fresh that I started to get drowsy. Steve patted his shoulder and I rested my head upon it. He took my hand and placed it in his. I thought nothing of these actions -- Steve and I always held hands and hugged and stuff. In fact, most of our friends thought that we were fooling around, even though we weren't. We were purely platonic, honestly. I guess no one could really figure us out.

"This is nice," I said, a small smile forming on my face.

"This?" he asked.

"This," I murmured.

"You mean sitting here, talking, holding hands?"

"Mmhmm."

"You're right," he said, in a strange, faraway kind of tone. Something in the way he spoke made me feel uneasy. He planted a light kiss on the top of my head, then leaned back into the plush comfort of the bucket seat. I, however, sat up.

"Something wrong?" he asked. I wasn't sure what to say, so I shook my head no. "Are you sure?" I nodded, and placed my head back onto his shoulder. He let his head lean over onto mine. "Nice," I whispered softly, as it to myself.

Then, out of the blue, Steve jerked his head up. "What's the matter?" I asked him, alarmed.

"My eye," he said, reclaiming his hand and raising it to his face. "It's burning!"

"Is there something in it?"

"I don't know!" He sounded annoyed.

"Well, try pulling the lid down over the whole eye."

"What?" he whined.

"Here, let me show you." I reached over and gently tugged on his eyelashes to illustrate what I meant. His eye started to water and I wiped off the "tear" that had formed on his cheek.

"Are you wearing perfume?" Steven asked.

I immediately thought he was having an allergic reaction. "Yeah, why?"

"No reason," he responded. "It just smells good." I had been massaging his eyelid but now I stopped. I didn't like the way that he sounded. How did he sound? I can't explain it, but he just didn't sound like himself. "I think it's better no," he said, and I dropped my hand. Steven promptly took possession of it again.

( How the story ends.Collapse )

From a new student in the Toolbox class:

Lara, you definitely have found a calling in being a teacher. I am so excited. I have been walking around with characters and stories in my head my whole life. The thought that I may be able to actually get them out of my head and share them and maybe, maybe have people PAY for them is beyond belief for me.

I came home and wrote for an hour straight then woke up and wrote for another half hour. Thanks again for your enthusiasm and encouragement.

Cheers!

It's nice to start the day with a smile.

At long last: a new Recipe of the Week! With my current schedule - full-time job at IRA, part-time job at UD, second part-time job at the YMCA, volunteering with the Girl Scouts, occasional tutoring/mentoring with Z, freelance editing, and (deep breath in) various author-y type things - I haven't had a whole lot of time to cook lately. Cooking requires planning, pulling recipes, shopping for ingredients, and, you know, being at your stove long enough to pull something together. Anyway, I had a bag of potatoes that were threatening to turn on me and a need to get back to homemade meals. I've never made Colcannon before, but saw a recipe that had the bones of being a great meal. So, I did the Lara thing and tinkered with it until I got a big pot o' yummy. Some people consider it a side dish, but I served it as a meal in and of itself. Hope you enjoy!

Lara's Colcannon

INGREDIENTS

6 medium to large red-skinned potatoes
1 huge bunch kale, rinsed and stems removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
½ pound bacon, chopped into lardons
3 leeks, white and light green parts only
2 large onions
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh ground nutmeg, to taste (optional)

PREPARATION

Boil the potatoes, whole, for 30-45 minutes, or until completely tender (this is VERY important; if you undercook the potatoes here, they will never get to the right texture). Allow the potatoes to cool. Peel them and set aside. [NOTE: if you don't have the patience for boiling whole potatoes, you could probably chop these into chunks and boil then, skin-on, and forget about the peeling. This is ONLY if you're using red-skinned potatoes, because the skins are so thin.]

While the potatoes are cooking, steam the kale five minutes. Drain, squeeze out the excess water, and chop the kale finely. Set aside.

Cut leeks in half length wise and then into ¼-inch half moons. Place in a large bowl of cool water and agitate to let the sandy bits float to the bottom.

In a large frying pan, heat one tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the lardons, reduce heat to medium, and render out the fat. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. If bacon isn’t crispy enough, you can zap it in the microwave for 15-25 seconds later. [NOTE #2: I buy the Oscar Meyer Center-Cut Bacon in the resealable packs. I leave it in the freezer. When I need some, I chop it off from the shorter end. Cutting this into 1/4" strips creates fake "lardons." I learned this from Melissa D'Arabian, whom I admire greatly.]

Add the leeks to the hot bacon grease/oil mixture, add a heavy pinch of kosher salt, and sauté five minutes, or until tender. Next, add the kale and another pinch of salt and sauté for five to ten, stirring occasionally. You want the kale to be tender but not mushy.

In the microwave, heat the milk and four tablespoons of butter until hot but not boiling. Put your potatoes into a large pot (a stock pot works well), add the hot milk mixture, and mash. Your potatoes should still have a little chunk to them. Then add the kale/leek mixture to the pot and season with salt, fresh ground pepper, and fresh nutmeg. Keep in mind that the bacon will add salt, so don’t over-salt.

Peel and cut the onions in half vertically. With the flat side on a chopping block, cut each half into semicircular slices. In the frying pan, add the last tablespoon of vegetable oil and the remaining butter and melt together over medium heat. Add the onions with another pinch of Kosher salt and cook for fifteen to twenty minutes over medium low, stirring occasionally. They should be soft and browned.

Put the potato mixture into bowls and top with caramelized onions and some bacon. Serve and enjoy!

[MORE NOTES: If you're looking for a healthier option, you could use half the butter. You could also omit the bacon, but then you'll need more oil in which to sauté the vegetables. If you do this, you have a vegetarian meal! Lastly: I had a lot of leftovers, so to reheat I spread the potato/kale/leek mixture into an 8x8" pan and topped with about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, then the caramelized onions and bacon. Put the casserole into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and Colcannon has heated through. Extra yummy goodness!]

Some friends and I are doing the AIDS walk this Sunday, and we've all had a doozy of a time raising funds. I know that times are really, really tight right now, but think of it this way: if 10 people donate just $5 a piece, that brings AIDS Delware $50 closer to their goal.

From the AIDS Delaware website:

Did you know that Delaware consistently ranks in the top ten states for HIV infection rates per capita in the country? This ranking is a core aspect of our mission at AIDS Delaware. No person should contract HIV. It is a 100% preventable disease. But our caseload continues to increase each year and the infection rate remains steady! As new treatments become available there is hope for at least the postponement of death. There is no cure and no vaccine.

All funds in raised in Delaware stay in Delaware. Services focus on three primary functions: Education & Outreach, Counseling & Testing, and Case Management. 80% of every dollar raised goes directly to those programs.

To sponsor me, go to https://www.aidsdelaware.org/secure_aidswalk2010/sponsorAWalker2.jsp?id=5979. Or sponsor another walker. Again, even FIVE DOLLARS can make a HUGE difference.

Thanks in advance!

On November 1st, the 12th annual NaNoWriMo project begins. What's NaNoWriMo, you ask? NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, and it's this very cool, but also kind of insane, project that takes place each november. The short of it is this: starting 12:01 a.m. on 11/1, your goal is to write a 50,000 word novel by midnight of 11/30.

I've never ACTUALLY done it, but every year I think, "I should so do this." Maybe this year I'll put my money where my mouth is.

Even if you're not ready to take on NaNoWriMo, there are a couple of upcoming programs designed to get you pumped about writing:

The Mid-Atlantic Writers Conference: A Writers Conference for Non-Writers
Saturday, October 2, 2010 :: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sheraton Conference Center, Dover, DE

From the website:

Do you make-up bedtime stories for your children or grandchildren? Have you researched the history of your family? Is writing something you have enjoyed in your business life? Do you journal faithfully? Is poetry a stress reliever? Have you thought about going to a writers conference but felt intimidated by the "real" writers and "master classes" they support? If so, this is the conference for you!

The Mid-Atlantic Writers Conference brings non-writers together with established writers in a casual environment to help the beginners jump start their writing ambitions, whether for one specific project or to fulfill a dream. Learn the basics on how to get started, find support, and author tips, tricks, and resources. You’ll learn and get advice from the region’s established writing community, the ones who have been there, written that!

Choose your interest in fiction, non-fiction and memoir, or poetry. Stay the day in that track, or mix it up to get a taste of all that is on offer. Add in some bling to really get the creative wave going by lunching with an author who will answer your questions, having dinner with a writing legend, or getting one-on-one advice for a manuscript already started or a project you have in mind.

(Full disclosure: I'm delivering the keynote address.)

If you can't make it down to Dover, but are still looking for some writing inspiration, I'm running my Creative Writing Series at the Brandywine YMCA again, starting Tuesday, October 5th. For more information, see below. To register, click here.

ADULT CREATIVE WRITING SERIES

THE WRITING TOOLBOX [04505]
Calling all closet writers! Dust off your manuscripts and bring them to class, where we’ll discuss the craft of creative writing, as well as workshop your short stories and novel excerpts (no poetry, please). Want to try your hand at writing but have nothing prepared? We’ll do weekly writing exercises to help you get those juices flowing – and get your ideas onto a page. Our instructor is award-winning young adult novelist and college instructor Lara Zeises, whose novel True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet (written under her pseudonym Lola Douglas) was made into a Lifetime television movie. Past class members are welcome to join us to continue with your work. Class is limited to 10 students.

Session: 10/05/10-11/09/10
Day/Time: Tue 7:00-7:50 pm
Fee: Full Member $48 / Program Member + Public $54

FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP [04506]
Want to get intensive feedback on your short stories and novel excerpts? This companion course is for you! Member will be encouraged to submit 15 to 20 pages of fiction (no poetry, please) to the class for critique. We’ll also talk about revision strategies and other topics for intermediate to advanced writers. Please have a work in progress before signing up; e-mail instructor Lara Zeises at zeisgeist (at) aol (dot) com if you have any questions. Class is limited to 10 students.

Session: 10/05/10-11/09/10
Day/Time: Tue 8:00-8:50 pm
Fee: Full Member $48 / Program Member + Public $54

COMBINATION WRITING TOOLBOX/ WORKSHOP PACKAGE [04508]
If you’re interested in signing up for both adult creative writing courses, please register for the combination package under code [04508].

Fee: Full Member $72 / Program Member + Public $80

Happy writing, everyone!

Last week, Wendy's husband Casey turned 40. To celebrate, she threw him a baseball-themed party that culminated with a trip to the Blue Rocks game (complete with fireworks!). So, knowing how much Joe loves to bake, she asked us if we'd do cupcakes. Finding a beer-flavored cupcake was my idea, but the original recipe I'd pulled - from Smitten Kitchen - was more complicated than Joe was willing to commit to. It also had raw alcohol (as opposed to stuff that gets cooked off), so it wasn't super kid-friendly. The recipe he settled on belongs to Dave Lieberman, as posted on Chow.com. The frosting? I can take FULL credit for that one. (And it is OMG good, believe me!) Enjoy!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Guinness-Infused Frosting

INGREDIENTS

1 pt. 6 oz bottle of Guinness (or other dark stout)
½ cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs
¾ cup sour cream (full fat)
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar, plus 2 tsp. for Guinness syrup
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda

For the frosting:
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese (doesn’t have to be softened)
1 ½ sticks (14 Tbps.) unsalted butter (DOES have to be softened)
Guinness syrup (see below)
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted to get rid of clumps

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 12 oz. of Guinness, the milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream.

In a separate bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness mixture.

Butter 24 muffin tins OR us cupcake liners (which is what we did). This batter is really thin; the best way to pour it is to use a small Pyrex cup meant for li quids. Bake 25 minutes, until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool on rack before frosting.

To make the frosting:

Start by making the Guinness syrup. In a small saucepan over low heat, pour the remaining Guinness and add 1 tsp. of granulated sugar. Let simmer until the liquid has reduced by two thirds. It should have the consistency of cough syrup and coat the back of a spoon. Typically, the amount of liquid used will yield close to a quarter cup of syrup. Let cool.

Next, cut the two bricks of cream cheese into large chunks and put in a stand mixer. Add softened (but NOT melted) butter and about half of the cooled Guinness syrup. Mix on medium speed until well combined.

Next, start adding in the sifted confectioner’s sugar in half cup amounts, keeping the mixer on low. When the frosting starts to get the desired consistency, take a taste. To increase the Guinness flavor, use the remaining syrup balance out with confectioner’s sugar.

When frosting is ready, spoon into a gallon-sized zip top bag, cut off one corner, and mound on top of cupcakes (should look like the head of a beer).

I, um, started a new job!

It's a great job, working in membership for the International Reading Association, the headquarters for which is housed in Newark, Delaware, just a five-minute drive from the University of Delaware's main campus. Because of the proximity to UD, I kept my short fiction workshop, which I teach during my lunch break on MWF. I'm also: working with an editing client, tutoring a fifth-grade genius every other week, and come October, I'll be back to teaching my creative writing series at the Brandywine YMCA.

It's an adjustment, I'll tell you that much.

Regardless, I am really, really happy. There are many, many reasons for this, but that's another post for a different day. Mostly I just wanted to pop in and say that I'm still here, even if the blog has been a bit sporadic.

Oh, and if you like my recipes? You'll love to stop by on Wednesday, when I post the recipe Joe and I used for our Guinness Cupcakes and my Super Special Guinness-infused frosting.

One of the cheapest cuts of meat you can pick up at my local Shoprite are boneless pork cutlets. Each package usually has four to six cutlets in the package and you pay something like $3 for the whole thing. And recently I realized that if I purchased a pound of dried beans, it's the equivalent of four cans of beans at 1/4 of the price. This inspired me to put together this "pork and beans" combo that was full of flavor and incredibly easy on the wallet.

Side note: I served these with Bobby Flay's Sauteed Swiss Chard. It calls for a 1/4 cup of Serrano Chili Vinegar that you make yourself and requires two days to steep, so we substituted our own mixture of red wine vinegar and hot sauce with red pepper flake thrown in for extra heat. We also ditched the slab bacon in exchange for the Oscar Mayer Center Cut stuff we keep in the freezer. Best greens EVER!

Mexican-Style Pork Cutlets

INGREDIENTS

1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon chipotle-flavored Tabasco
1/2 cup flour (I used peanut flour, now available at Trader Joe’s)
2 teaspoon chili powder (ancho or chipotle preferred, but any will do)
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
½ tablespoon dried oregano
½ tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-6 center-cut boneless pork cutlets (1 lb. total), pounded thin
Salt & pepper
Zest and juice of one lime
Handful of fresh cilantro, rough chopped (optional)

PREPARATION

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and water until it starts to foam. Stir in a teaspoon of dry mustard and the Tabasco sauce and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix flour with chili powder, cumin, and coriander and set aside.

In a third bowl, mix Panko with oregano and parsley.

Season each cutlet with salt and pepper on both sides. Dip cutlets in flour, then the egg mixture (coating thoroughly), and then in the bread crumbs.

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium high until hot. Add the cutlets, lower the heat slightly, and cook for about 2 minutes. Turn and brown the other side. Continue cooking, turning once again if necessary, until the pork is cooked through (roughly 5 minutes total).

Drain cutlets on a paper bag to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle the tops with the lime zest. Just before serving, squeeze lime juice over each cutlet. You can also top with fresh cilantro for extra zip.

Spicy Black Beans

INGREDIENTS

½ lb. dried black beans
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 fresh garlic cloves, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped scallions, for garnish (optional)
Handful of fresh cilantro, rough chopped, for garnish (optional)

PREPARATION

The night before, soak the black beans in a large pot of water.

The next day, rinse the beans, cover with 3 cups of fresh water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam.

While beans are simmering, heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium high. Add onion and jalapeno with a pinch of salt and sweat until softened. Add the garlic and red pepper flake and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Set aside until the beans have simmered for the full thirty minutes.

Add onion mixture to the pot of black beans along with oregano, cumin, and coriander. Simmer uncovered for another thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. If beans aren’t tender enough, add a little more water and keep checking on them every ten minutes or so.

When beans have reached the desired tenderness, remove about 1/3 of the beans from the pot and mash them with a fork or potato masher and add them back to the pot. Stir in honey and vinegar, and taste before seasoning with salt and pepper.

Garnish with chopped scallion and fresh cilantro before serving.

Holy wow, am I in pain.

I know I've mentioned several time that I started taking Combat Aqua, which is sort of like kickboxing in the shallow end of the pool, this past spring. I really love the class. It's got great music, fun gear, and I honestly get a real workout from of it. And it's not just me; one of the bikini clad newbies that showed up to last Monday's class grumbled, "I can't believe I'm freaking sweating in the pool."

So.

Two weeks ago I decided to check out the Western Family Y's version of the deep water workout. For these classes, you're in the deep end, wearing a floatation belt and doing things like trying to balance on pool noodles and curling your biceps with foam weights held under the water. The normal Thursday night teacher was on vacation, and his replacement apparently hadn't taught the class in a while. She spent most of the hour talking about how she much she hated Delaware and was interviewing for a different job in D.C. My heart rate? As still as it is when I'm watching TV. By the end I started swimming laps just to try to get a little bit of cardio in, which is the main reason I've been taking these water aerobics classes. Afterward, I told Joe that it had been the biggest waste of time ever. He confessed that he'd peeked in through the window and saw that we were all just sort of bobbing in place. I was so upset about this wasted hour that I ended up filling out a comment card for the first time ever. (To the Y's credit, someone emailed me within a week to apologize, and assured me that they'd speak to the sub instructor about what I'd said. I made sure to gush about Paula, our Combat Aqua instructor, who always tailors her workouts to who's there. Like, when the bikini-clad newbies showed up, Paula used our warm up time to teach them the basic moves. She rocks.)

Anyway, the week after Wendy attended a Tuesday night deep water class. The regular instructor, Richard, was still on vacay, so the Wednesday night teacher, Jess, filled in for him. Wendy's experience was the opposite of mine; in her class, Richard's Tuesday night regulars were complaining that Jess was too hard (whereas his Thursday night regulars that I encountered told me Richard's workouts were much more intense). So, Wendy and I agreed to take Jess's class this past Wednesday.

I should explain that this particular class is billed as a combination of Aqua Jog and Burdenko Water Walking, both of which emphasize using your own weight as well as the water for resistance. You still wear the floatation belt, but you rarely stop moving. Ten minutes into the class, as "Itty Bitty Pretty One" blasted from the portable speaker, Jess was screaming, "Level 8, Ladies! Push it harder! Go all out now!" Jess, I should explain, is an older woman, pretty tall and stick thin. She's also quite buff and a little bit of a drill sargeant, but in a good way. I was grunting a bit as I cross-country skied cross the length of the pool, and I'm fairly certain my face turned purple when we were Level 10 "jogging." By the time we got the part of the class where we were using the foam dumbbells, I wanted to die - always the mark of a good workout, if you ask me. I told Jess I'd definitely be back, and I will.

Yesterday, though, I started to feel the effects of my first Jess-run Aqua Jog class. It started with a little bit of soreness in my hips and my bum. Not pain, just the kind of tender you feel after a new kind of workout, where you're moving muscles that haven't been moved in a while. The tenderness increased as the night went on. Then, today, I woke up in a world of hurt. Like, seriously, my butt hurts, my hips hurt, my upper back is sore, my arms are sore - I think the only part of my body that doesn't realize it received a workout is my forearm. Seriously.

Did I mention that I dropped two full pounds since I took the class? That's after ONE CLASS. I most certainly will become a devoted disciple of Jess.

Exercise is such a funny thing to me. I'm one of those people who both loves and loathes routine. I like my Monday night Combat Aqua class because it's fun cardio, and even though there are a limited number of moves involved, Paula's always finding ways to change things up. So going on Mondays is routine, but the workout itself isn't. Twice a week I do a brief warm up on the treadmill before doing anywhere from 60 to 75 minutes of strength training, depending on which machines I use, followed by a 6-minute stretch. Again, there are only a limited number of machines, but part of the fun of that type of workout for me is getting to increase my weights with each workout. (Mostly - it takes a lot longer for me to be able to increase the weight I use on the shoulder press, for instance, than it does on the leg press.)

Cardio is always a problem because A) I get bored if I'm on the treadmill for 40 minutes, even if have good music to keep me company, B) the fitness level required by many of the Y classes is inconsistent (for instance, a beginning "dance aerobics" class had a cracked-out instructor who did everything in counts of two instead of four, six, or eight, like a normal person, which left me feeling lost and frustrated); and C) I'm a sweater. I've always been a sweater, especially from my nose and scalp. In middle school dances, after about 20 minutes of "Doin' Da Butt," my hair would be sopping wet. I was known to duck into the bathroom and stick my head in the sink just to cool off. My mom, who is in a completely normal weight range, is like this too, and there's a term for it, hyperhodrosis, which is really a fancy way of saying YOU SWEAT MORE THAN NORMAL PEOPLE. There's a whole scientific explanation for this, about how your internal thermostat is kind of broken, and there are a bunch of doctors out there who will inject specific sweat glands with Botox to inhibit their overproduction.

Anyway, so when it's crisp and cool in the fall, Joe and I will often take the dog to the walking trail at Delcastle and do two miles, no biggie. But in the heat and humidity of a Delaware summer? Yeah, no.

So I'm always on the lookout for workouts that don't feel like exercise, even though you're burning calories and building muscle. Hence my earlier forays into ballroom dancing, bellydancing, etc. But I know cardio is one area where I really need to focus my efforts, because I still have a lot of fat left to burn.

The epic failure of the Summer Fitness Challenge is a different post for another day, but I will say that it's had an interesting result for me. Technically I'm pretty much at the weight I was when I started June 23rd, but I'm wearing a full size smaller and I think I'm going to have to get my engagement ring resized (again). If I disregard the number on the scale, and focus on how I look and feel, then the SFC has been a personal success. Which is pretty great, I guess, especially considering that I barely worked out at all between March and June.

Off to run errands!

I'd wanted to plant a garden in the backyard this year, and even got most of the materials to make a raised bed garden. But, I never got around to actually getting stuff in the ground. Fortunately for me, Wendy has turned a third of her backyard into a very abundant garden, and is constantly funneling me tomatoes, peppers, and squash (and Monday, I got a sugar baby watermelon we haven't cut into yet - I want to turn it into a watermelon, mint, and feta salad for tomorrow night's dinners). Anyway, last week our lovely neighbor, Bill, also handed off about a dozen tomatoes. You know what that means?

Time to make salsa.

Some of the tomatoes Wendy gave us were on the verge of going overripe, so I wasn't crazy about the idea of using them in a fresh salsa. My mom had mentioned a roasted tomato salsa, though, and I liked the idea because I could freeze batches for later. I found a recipe from The Boston Globe and tweaked the hell out of it. That's the first recipe.

The second salsa recipe is the one I made a few weeks back - the one Joe said was better than any salsa he'd had in Mexico. I'd never made fresh salsa before, so I used Alton's recipe as a base. But his was a little more complicated than I was willing to commit to, so I tweaked the hell out of that one as well.

I should note: I like my salsas spicy. VERY spicy. I also LOVE cilantro, and add a ton because it's just so so so good. But feel free to tweak my tweaks, and let me know about your results!

Spicy Roasted Tomato Salsa

INGREDIENTS

1 medium head of garlic, roasted (see below)
6 plum tomatoes, cored and halved (or regular ones, with the goop scooped out)
2 jalapeno or other chili peppers, cored, seeded, and halved
2 banana peppers or 1 bell pepper (green or red), cored, seeded, and halved
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Zest and juice of 1 lime
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
Heavy pinch of red pepper flake
Couple dashes of chipotle-flavored Tabasco (or a ¼ tsp. of adobo) – optional

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the outer husk from the bulb of garlic, but leave all of the cloves connected. Cut about ¼ inch off the top to expose all of the cloves. Place bulb in “cup” made from foil (keep sides high) and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt on top and place a “lid” made from a second square of foil. Place on baking sheet and put in oven for 30 minutes. When garlic is done, remove the foil cup to a small bowl and let cool. Leave the oil that’s seeped out on the baking sheet.

Move the top oven rack to five inches from the heating element and turn on the broiler. Place tomatoes, peppers, and onion on the baking sheet (if it doesn’t have much of a lip, use a small roasting pan instead). Drizzle with vegetable oil (don’t use olive here – it will burn too easily) and sprinkle with a heavy pinch of salt. With your hands, turn the vegetables to coat them all over. If the pan is too hot, use tongs.

Broil the mixture, turning it with tongs every 2 minutes, for about 10 minutes, or until they are softened and charred all over.

Put tomato/pepper/onion mixture into a food processor. Remove the roasted bulb of garlic and squeeze the softened cloves into the processor, making sure not to let any of the papery husks get in. Pulse until mixture is chunky or has reached the desired consistency.

Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the lime zest, juice, cilantro, and spices. Taste before adding chipotle Tabasco or adobo to make sure salsa isn’t too spicy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can eat this warm, but salsa always tastes better after the flavors have had time to blend. BONUS: this should freeze really well!

Fresh-n-Spicy Tomato Salsa

INGREDIENTS

6 Roma tomatoes (or other), cored and chopped into a small dice (make sure to squeeze out goop)
5 large cloves of garlic, minced (do NOT use frozen cubes; fresh is best)
3 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1 medium red onion, fine chopped (bordering on minced)
1 Tbsp. olive oil (not EVOO – use the regular stuff)
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. chili powder (ancho preferred)
1 tsp. of cumin
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley, if you’re nuts and don’t like cilantro)
Heavy pinch of red pepper flake
Couple dashes of chipotle-flavored Tabasco
Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and taste for seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours so that all of the flavors can combine. Adjust seasoning before serving.

[NOTE: Mincing everything can be very time consuming, but it's seriously worth the effort. It makes for a salsa with just the right amount of chunk. So. GOOD.]

Typically, Wednesdays are "Recipe of the Week." But, I'm testing out a bunch of new salsa recipes today, and fall registration opened today for fully members of the YMCA, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to share information about the series of classes I teach three times a year at the Brandywine Y.

ADULT CREATIVE WRITING SERIES

THE WRITING TOOLBOX [04505]
Calling all closet writers! Dust off your manuscripts and bring them
to class, where we’ll discuss the craft of creative writing, as well as
workshop your short stories and novel excerpts (no poetry, please).
Want to try your hand at writing but have nothing prepared? We’ll
do weekly writing exercises to help you get those juices flowing – and
get your ideas onto a page. Our instructor is award winning young
adult novelist and college instructor Lara Zeises, whose novel True
Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet (written under her pseudonym
Lola Douglas) was recently made into a Lifetime television movie. Past
class members are welcome to join us to continue with your work.
Class is limited to 10 students.
Session: 10/05/10-11/09/10
Day/Time: Tue 7:00-7:50 pm
Fee: Full Member $48 / Program Member + Public $54

FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP [04506]
Want to get intensive feedback on your short stories and novel
excerpts? This companion course is for you! Member will be encouraged
to submit 15 to 20 pages of fiction (no poetry, please) to
the class for critique. We’ll also talk about revision strategies and
other topics for intermediate to advanced writers. Please have a
work in progress before signing up; e-mail instructor Lara Zeises at
zeisgeist@aol.com if you have any questions. Class is limited to 10
students.
Session: 10/05/10-11/09/10
Day/Time: Tue 8:00-8:50 pm
Fee: Full Member $48 / Program Member + Public $54

COMBINATION WRITING TOOLBOX/
WORKSHOP PACKAGE [04508]
If you’re interested in signing up for both adult creative writing courses,
please register for the combination package under code [04508].
Fee: Full Member $72 / Program Member + Public $80

Note that you save $24 by enrolling in both the Toolbox and Workshop sections.

Some additional info: several people from my summer class indicated that they'd prefer to meet biweekly, like we did this June through August. The promotional copy for fall classes had already gone out, but the special education coordinator and I talked and if everyone who enrolls decides they'd prefer biweekly classes, we can officially make the class biweekly. Also, all classes going forward will be offered biweekly, so if that appeals to you keep an eye out for info on our winter/spring session.

To register, either log on to http://www.ymcade.org/branches/brandywine/index.cfm, or call 302-478-9622. And let me know if you have any questions about the class or anything else!

Email received from Children's Book World:

PAYA: Bringing YA to PA is an organization started by fifteen-year-old Skyanne Fisher to raise money and collect books for libraries across Pennsylvania. Since October, PAYA has raised over a thousand dollars and collected hundreds of books for Pennsylvania libraries.

The 2010 PAYA Festival is this Saturday, and Children's Book World will be in attendance to sell books. This is a phenomenal opportunity for YA enthusiasts of all ages to meet and greet local authors as well as support PA libraries!

2010 PAYA Festival
August 21st, 2010
Center for Performing and Fine Arts
112 Carter Drive - Suite C
West Chester, Pennsylvania
1pm-3pm
*Doors open at 12:45pm*

Authors attending the festival and signing books include: Josh Berk, Jeri Smith-Ready, Stephanie Kuehnert, Jennifer Hubbard, Ellen Jensen Abbot, Amy Brecount White, Andrew Auseon, Cyn Balog, Holly Nicole Hoxter, Kieryn Nicolas, Chelsea Swiggett, Jennifer Murgia, Shelena Shorts, Jon Skovron, Meg Medina, Dianne Salerni, Christine Marciniak, and Shannon Delany.

Before the signing, there will also be a Listen and Critique Writing workshop led by Josh Berk, Jeri Smith-Ready, Stephanie Kuehnert, Amy Brecount White, Jon Skovron, and Shannon Delany. Each author will be speaking on a writing related topic before splitting into groups with 3-5 attendees, who will each have their work critique. Teen authors Chelsea Swiggett and Kieryn Nicolas will also be presenting a workshop specifically for teens. Pre-registerstration is required for both workshops. Forms can be received by emailing bringya2pa[at]yahoo.com.

Other fundraisers, including a basket raffle featuring signed books by Meg Cabot and other authors, and a used book sale, will also be happening at this time. All money raised will go to libraries across Pennsylvania.

More information on PAYA can be found by visiting bringya2pa.com. There's also a LiveJournal community. <-- I added that last bit myself.