NEW RELEASE!

Tags

cozy, Foodie, friendship, murder, mystery, new release, recipes

There are some people we trust no matter what. Judy Post/Judi Lynn, friend and fearless leader/mother hen of Summit City Scribes is someone you can rely on in every way. If she tells me to jump, I just do it. It’s a joy to get her notes and suggestions. I’m so pleased have her visit my lowly blog. She’s a great blogger. I am…meh.

Take it away Judi!

M.L. Rigdon/Julia Donner and I have been critique partners for years.  Which means I value her opinion, and I love her writing.  I couldn’t critique someone I didn’t admire and enjoy.  And I wouldn’t listen to someone’s opinion about book after book if I didn’t respect her as a writer.  And I love her writing.  I hope you take the time to check out some of her books:  Amazon.com : julia donner kindle books and https://www.amazon.com/s?k=M.L.+Rigdon&i=digital-text&crid=3JNVIDQCZ9U7O&sprefix=m.l.+rigdon%2Cdigital-text%2C68&ref=nb_sb_noss  

Mary Lou and I aren’t just critique partners, we’re best friends.  And I can tell you, she’s one heck of a baking queen.  I love to cook.  She loves to bake.  Between us, you’d get a meal you’d really enjoy😊  (Even though she’s ALMOST as good of a cook as I am😊  But I’m visiting her blog to promote my latest cozy mystery, and luckily for me, this is a culinary mystery, so I still get to talk about recipes and food.  (No desserts.  That’s Mary Lou’s specialty).

My second Karnie Cleaver mystery is THE STEAKS ARE HIGH.  I love mysteries.  And I love cooking.  So I smooshed the two together, and Karnie works in her family’s butcher shop.  Every Thursday, her dad asks for something in the meat counter to put on a special sale for the weekends.  And when Karnie decides on something, she prints recipes to help their customers know how to cook the cuts of meat on sale.  She also records a cooking show that goes live every Monday, featuring that meat.  When I sold my very first Jazzi and Ansel mystery to Kensington, I was surprised when my editor told me that I needed to send him a few recipes for things Jazzi had cooked in the novel. 

I’m not a chef.  Don’t even pretend to be anything more than a woman who loves to cook.  So having to come up with recipes worried me.  I collect recipes.  I have a huge plastic file box that’s full of them.  I have recipes for Soup, Salads, Main Dish Salads, Pasta and Italian, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Seafood, Chinese, Mexican, Side Dishes,  Brunch, Parties, and Vegetables.  I tear recipes out of magazines and stuff them in the files.  I DON’T CREATE MY OWN RECIPES.  And that worried me.  Then a chef on TV said that if you changed ONE ingredient in a recipe, it was now your own.  And I felt better.  I play and tweak with every recipe I have.

I still insist that I’m only a cook, someone who loves to feed people.  I don’t pretend to be anything more, but I love to have friends and family over for meals.  I’m one of those people who makes a menu for every week so that I buy all of the ingredients I need.  And Karnie’s more organized than I am.  In this book, she makes rolled pork loins stuffed with simple ingredients and then with fruits and nuts.  (I’ve made both and love them).  I include five recipes at the end of this book, and they’re ones I’ve used with success. 

I have to warn.  The clam chowder recipe I included this time is for people who are gluten and dairy free.  The Barefoot Contessa might not approve.  But I’m older now, and I have friends who have dietary restrictions.  My grandson is dating a girl who’s a vegetarian who only adds fish to her diet and she’s gluten free.  A tricky combination, so I came up with the chowder recipe. 

Anyway, if you like culinary cozy mysteries, THE STEAKS ARE HIGH might appeal to you.  And I’m happy to visit Mary Lou’s blog.  So, this was fun!  Thanks for having me, M.L. Rigdon/Julia Donner.

Judi’s Bio:   

Judi Lynn lives in Indiana with her husband, a bossy gray cat, and a noisy Chihuahua.  She loves to cook and owns more cookbooks than any mortal woman would ever need.  That’s why so much food sneaks into her stories.  She also loves her flower beds, but is a haphazard gardener, at best.   

My blog & webpage:  http://writingmusings.com/ 

My author Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/ 

Twitter: @judypost 

On BookBub at Judi Lynn with a link to Judith Post (for my urban fantasies):  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/judi-lynn 

Lost and Found

Tags

art, Batman, books, faith, friends, friendship, graphic novels, grief, inspiration, movies, nostalgia, religion, sci-fi, space travel, writing

Lately I’d been thinking about a friend I hadn’t heard from in a few years, Allen Etter, artist, teacher, film director, author, and innovative writer of Christian Science Fiction. I don’t know about the genre now, but when Allen wrote Entropy Gate, I’d never read anything like it. As I searched out his website to see if he still taught at the university, I was saddened to learn that he had died, quite young at 52.

Publishers of Christian fiction were not interested when Allen wrote EG. You don’t have to be Christian or interested in science fiction to enjoy Entropy Gate or its sequel, Beyond. He illustrated his own graphic novels with his distinctive graceful/grotesque talent. I always admired his ability to evoke movement in his paintings.

Entropy Gate:

https://www.amazon.com/Entropy-Gate-Journey-Allen-Etter-ebook/dp/B005M6Q7HM/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=allen+Etter&qid=1580064068&s=books&sr=1-2

Beyond:

https://www.amazon.com/Entropy-Gate-Beyond-Allen-Etter-ebook/dp/B005U6ZDE2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=allen+Etter&qid=1580064068&s=books&sr=1-3

Allen was invested in his faith, his family, and artistry. I admired the way his brain processed art in practical applications. One of his first webpages was of the girl on the cover of Entropy Gate and accessing the site by entering her sparkling green eye.

I remember best the wisdom in Allen’s large, dark eyes, his graceful hands, and his physical presence. At 6’7, he filled up surrounding space but he was never intimidating, more like cuddly. He listened with care and carried with him a quiet, inner burden. I enjoyed talking about fencing, which we both had studied, he being the better fencer.

Allen leaves behind sons and a wife he adored. I am sorry I hadn’t talked to him recently but have his art, books, the appreciation of his encouragement of my beginning efforts. Please check out his works on Amazon and enjoy his many exceptional talents. My glowing reviews were removed when it was discovered that we were friends, but he’s left some of them behind for us to admire. One of my favorites is a rendition of Batman:

More Than Friends

Tags

blogging, books, critique, editing, essays, fantasy, friendship, horror, inspiration, mystery, opinion, publishing, regency, romance, thriller, writing, YA

Just finished another exquisite blog post by Rachel R. Roberts, author, playwright, educator, and essayist. Poignacy and nostalgia embue every sentence. There is an elegance to her writing stemming from her personality, as lilting and gentle as her voice. I hear her as I read, the syrup-smooth glide of her southern cadence. The prose is so lyric and grammar always perfect. I can see her blushing as she reads this, her head slightly turned away with modesty that is natural and unaffected. I’ve always admired that in certain women, specifically those who are sincere with that response. I have none of that and often feel like a clod when in the company of Rachel, the epitome of  the gracious, southern lady. Her writing has the same even grace, while layered with so much left unwritten and yet clearly stated. I feel so lucky to hear her comments when she can attend our writing group. She never fails to find a bit of encouragement, is perceptive and kind when it comes to critiquing. Which brings me to the writing group itself, Summit City Scribes, or as we call ourselves, just plain ole Scribes.

The group ranges from ten to twenty members, fluctuating with each bi-monthly meeting. The rules are simple—fifteen minutes to read, the reader is not allowed to comment until after all the members make their remarks, which goes around the table one by one, starting with something complimentary then the opinion, suggestions, or critique.

Members are an eclectic bunch covering a wide variety of genres in fiction and non. It’s heartening for this reader to hear that the work just read held the attention of those having no interest in the genre but that it did hold their interest. If it’s a romance, that’s a big deal to hear from men who write about hiking, or a jounalist, a former cop, or the guy writing a gritty murder mystery. I remember the terror the first time I read to the group almost twenty years ago. Nowadays, I can’t wait to hear what they have to say and often use everything they suggest.

There are so many wonderful writers in this group, and since joining, I’ve found more than encouragement and instruction. The women are clever, bold and goal-oriented. The men are clear-sighted and true gentlemen, which is a lot to be said in this day and age. When my husband passed, Scribes were there, surrounding me like a bastion, determined to hold me up and see me through. They did and have through so many disappointments and set backs, writing and personal. I also scored with another of my favorite writers, my critique partner, Judy Post aka Judi Lynn. She is the fearless leader for Scribes and takes the role seriously, encouraging and touting us like a fierce mother hen. Uh, no. More like a valkyrie. Even though I dread the work involved in rewrites, I get a shiver of excitement when getting back pages from Judy drenched in red ink. She loves to write mystery, so she finds all the plot defects.

I’m including blog sites to illustrate how we differ as writers. I’ve always loved differences, how much there is to glean from another POV. I’ve learned so much from Scribes, wouldn’t have any of the craft or successes without them. Check out their blogs, you’ll see what I mean about how we differ, and because of that, learn, and more importantly, apply.

Rachel S. Roberts

https://www.rachelsroberts.com/blog/naked-ladies

Judith Post/Judi Lynn

https://writingmusings.com/2018/08/04/just-keep-writing/#comments

Kathy Palm

https://findingfaeries.wordpress.com

I’ve added a former Scribes member, Les Edgerton. (Won’t list his credentials  because it goes on for miles.) He has a terrific blog and an amazing new book out.

http://lesedgertononwriting.blogspot.com/2018/08/preordering-available-for-adrenaline.html?spref=tw

So much to learn, so little time.

M.L Rigdon (aka Julia Donner)

Follow on Twitter @RigdonML

Blog: https://historyfanforever.wordpress.com/

Website http://www.MLRigdon.com

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-donner

https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Donner-697165363688218/timeline