Writers Wednesday

Oh Lordy, I am such a flake.  Not only did I skip Five on Friday, but I also completely forgot about Tasty Tuesday.  I have no excuse.  But I hope to redeem myself by another wonderful Writers Wednesday.

Featured on today's Writers Wednesday is an author I only recently discovered.  The talented and quite awe-inspiring Ms. Amanda Hocking.  I've seen her books popping up on my nook often over the past couple of months and I finally bit the bullet and purchased one of them after reading this blog post by the author.  I began reading through her blog and really liked her style, so I bought her book.  And guess what?  I loved it!  I am, obviously, a fan of paranormal romance.  But Ms. Hocking has a refreshing style and voice that causes her readers to become absolutely obsessed with her writing.  It is a quality I've always wished for, but, sadly, never achieved.

The first book I chose to cut my teeth on, was Switched.  It is the first book in her Trylle Trilogy and it is about a girl whose mother tried to kill her when she was little, claiming she was a monster.  It turns out that her mother was right.  Changelings, trolls and teenage hormones.  Add in some philosophizing on what family truly means, and what's not to love?

If you have a kindle, you can check this one out for $0.99.  If you have a nook, you can pick it up for the same price at barnesandnoble.com.  Can't beat that deal.  While I wouldn't put this book up for any literary awards, it is a great YA read.  And truly, I would much rather have my daughter reading these coming-of-age books then, say, the Twilight books, which I feel send harmful messages to impressionable teenage girls. 

As an adult reading this story, I found myself often annoyed at the characters' reactions and interactions, but I felt they were true to the age group.  And this book is aimed at a young adult audience, and I think young adults will find a lot to relate to and commiserate with pertaining to the characters.  It is interesting and engaging, even if you, like me, find yourself rolling your eyes at some of the teenage antics.

So give it a try.  Let's see if you become as addicted to Ms. Hocking's stories as I have.

Writers Wednesday

Featured on today's Writers Wednesday is the talented Ms. Elizabeth Peters.  More particularly, her Amelia Peabody mysteries, begining with Crocodile on the Sandbank.

Why-oh-why has it taken me so long to discover this gem of an author?  She has been on my radar for ages, but for some fathomless reason, I have never delved into her books before now.  What a crime that was, for the Amelia Peabody series is unutterably brilliant.

Amelia is a strong, forthright, vastly intelligent heroine the reader instantly falls in love with.  She is courageous, loyal and wonderfully outspoken.  She has no patience for ridiculous conventions put in place by even more ridiculous men.  It is a light, fun and witty adventure that takes you from the stuffy scene of Victorian England to the wonders of Egypt.  I am hoping that the compelling storytelling and characters hold up for the rest of the series (I think it is up to 19 now).  Ms. Peters seems talented enough to pull it off with sufficient grace and style.  I can't wait to read the rest of this delightful series.

If you haven't read this book, you must rectify that situation immediately.  I really must insist.

Good Wednesday, me'lovelies

Tasty Tuesday

My goodness, are those cobwebs?  Let's just dust those aside, shall we?  I am quite embarrassed by the state of things around here.  In my defense, the poor housekeeping of this blog is somewhat justified.  I have been recovering from a rather serious car accident I was in early last year and have only just had the time and energy to get things situated in cyberspace. 

After such a long absense, I find myself at a loss as to what I should say.  In an effort to spruce things up, perhaps we should institute a new tradition, yes?  I had my Five on Friday (which will be returning this Friday...I know, I know, you can hardly contain your excitement).  So now, for your (and my) culinary delight, I would like to introduce Tasty Tuesday. 

I realize this has nothing to do with reading OR writing, but we all need to eat, yes?  Feel free to leave your own recipes for next week's Tasty Tuesday.  I will try them and put my favorites on the ol' blog.  I confess to being a comment whore.  I love 'em, I need 'em, I gotta have 'em.

Without further ado, today's Tasty Tuesday recipes are:

Poached Pears
6 Forelle pears (or other small-ish pears)
2 tablespoon mulling cider spice mix
juice of one lemon

Place the pears, spice mix, lemon juice and water in tall saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the heat and let them simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the pears are just soft (poke with a toothpick to check).


Remove from the water using a slotted spoon and allow to cool on paper towel or baking rack.


Chocolate Sauce
4 oz Cadburry (is there any other) semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon honey

Place the chocolate in a non reactive bowl and set aside.


In a heavy saucepan set over medium high heat, bring the cream and honey to a strong simmer. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes then slowly stir until the mixture comes together.


Ice Cream
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1 cup (200gr) granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

In a large saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, and sugar. Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape the inside with the tip of a knife. Add that pulp (the seeds) to the pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium low heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let steep as it cools to room temperature. Refrigerate, preferably overnight. Strain if desired.

Process the mixture into your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's intructions.
 
I'm planning on enjoying this tonight with a nice port, or perhaps merlot, plugging in my ipod to this loverly, and finally doing some writing.  I tried yesterday, but was woefully unsuccessful.  I have a good feeling about tonight, however.  I am feeling inspired.
 
Happy March, my lovelies.