Good Ol' Pistachio Jello Salad

As a cookbook author, of course, I used to hear from readers. But mostly it was about recipes.  So now as a fiction author getting emails every now and then from readers, it’s mind blowing to hear from people about my writing or my characters—or even the town in my book, Cumberland Creek.I don't think I will ever get over it.

So I had to laugh the other day. A Creative Memories consultant contacted me. For those of you who don’t know, Creative Memories is a huge scrapbook company. She loves SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS, loves the characters, the scrapbooking and the way food is involved in the scenes. She mentioned one particular item that she says is popular at a lot of crops—the pistachio jello salad. She said she had a good laugh when she saw it in my book. That warms my heart.

So I’d thought I’d offer up the recipe today for those of you who don’t know the mainstay at crops, picnics, and other family gatherings.

                                          Photo by Angela de Marco

Pistachio Jello Salad

1 carton (16-ounce size) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package (3.4 ounce size) instant pistachio pudding mix
6 drops green food coloring, optional
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 can (20-ounce size) crushed pineapple, undrained
1/2 cup chopped pistachios or walnuts 
In a large bowl, combine whipped topping, pudding mix and food coloring if desired. Fold in the marshmallows and pineapple. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with nuts.

The Music of my Stories

“Without music life would be a mistake.”  ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Do you listen to music when you write?  Or do you need absolute silence?

Since I started writing fiction, I write to music. When I worked as a writer and editor in offices, music was a definite no-no, though I often felt the need to put headphones on and listen to a string quartet, or something, anything, to get the office blather out of my head. But it turned out to be a great exercise in concentration. I can write just about anywhere, if I have to, and focus.

When I started writing SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS, I listened to music that put me in the mood as background music for my characters and their scrapbook crops. My scrapbookers listen to all sorts of music. DeeAnn loves the Rolling Stones, Sheila mentions Usher, and Beatrice loves her Vivaldi.

But when I’m writing about them, I don’t listen to the music they like. I listen to what puts me in the mood to connect with them. The kind of music that reminds me of the emotional tone of my book. Does that make sense?

During the writing SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS, I listened to a lot of Alison Krauss, Hem, and Sara Watkins. All of this music is sort of a folk-bluegrass mix. But it has a current feel to it. All sung by women, of course. (Click on any of the linked words and you will be taken to a Youtube  page to listen.) Of all the songs I listened to, Half Acre by Hem reminds me most of SECRETS. Interesting, because it’s about Michigan, not Virginia, but the emotional landscape is what counts.

When I was writing the second book in my series—its new title is SCRAPPED—I listened to a lot of the same, but this book has a kind of otherworldly feel to it in some sections. So I listened to Enya, Loreena McKennitt and Azam Ali during the writing of those sections.

These days, while I’m writing the third book in the series, I’m listening to the Civil Wars, a new-ish bluegrass duo that is fantastic. Their music, while decidedly modern, is rooted in old bluegrass. The feel of straddling both worlds is conveyed so beautifully in their music. And that’s one feeling I use to connect to my story—and one that I hope my readers will feel.  

Sometimes I can get distracted by the words in music. When that happens, I listen  to Vitamin String Quartet—a string group that plays a lot of popular music.  I gotta tell you, I love this group. I have a soft spot for strings. My daughter plays the cello—or should I say struggles to play the cello.

Now I can’t imagine writing without music playing in the background. It really helps to free my mind, along with give me more focus.

Do you find music helpful when you’re writing?

Finding Joy Where You Can

“She started running water over the cereal bowls, with bits and pieces of cereal already hardened on them, and the sippy cups, smelling like grape juice. Sweet. Sickening smell, she thought. And the stickiness drove her mad. After she placed the dishes in the dishwasher, She looked out the window. Yes, that’s there I’ll plant my hummingbird garden, in that corner. Just a small space at first. Nasturtiums along the fence. Foxglove, Cosmos—and what else did Bea tell her? Hmmm. Dahlia. Oh yes, Annie loved Dahlias. She thought she’d get some red Dahlias if she could find them. A nice bright little red feeder in the middle of it all. “ —from Scrapbook of Secrets.
In the every day ordinariness of life, we all need spaces of joy, spaces where our minds are free just a bit—just like Annie, in the passage above. Sometimes we need to look up, glance out the window, and escape for a moment.
For me, that place has always been outside and many times, in my own garden. Don’t get anything fancy in mind. I love growing herbs, vegetables and a few flowers. One of my favorite plants in my Bleeding Heart, which I bought from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. I’d love to have a hummingbird garden like Beatrice in my book has—the one Annie is longing to plant. Just the idea of the garden soothes Annie as she goes about her daily chores. I really get that.
It’s so important for each one of us to find that thing—whether it’s gardening, scrapbooking, or knitting. Whatever brings us joy. A place where we’re not judged, a place where we feel safe, where the rest of the world melts away.
Even in today’s “connected” world where we have to participate in almost warped speed, it’s important to step back from it all sometimes and shrug. Stand firmly in your skin. Breathe fresh air. Remember who you are.
What is your thing? How do you connect to yourself? Or even escape from reality from time to time?

Recipes for a Crop

There are so many things I like about scrapbooking—but one of the coolest is that it can be such a social hobby. I confess that I’m kind of jealous, though, over the knitters and crocheters and their ability to take projects along with them to almost any event. With scrapping, it’s not quite that easy. But we do have social gatherings called “crops” and scrapbookers use groovy little cases with organizing systems to transport their stuff.
We also need tables to spread our photos, paper, glue, and embellishments out to consider and use. So space is often an issue at a crop. Often the public gatherings are held in churches, schools, and fire halls. When friends get together to crop, it’s a different matter.
The croppers in my book love to eat when they scrapbook. As you can imagine, that can be messy so the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Club usually keep their food off on a side table. They wander over, fill up a plate and take it back to their seats, very carefully. In my second book, SCRAPBOOK OF SHADOWS, a character actually spills wine on a scrapbook. Stuff happens. So be prepared.
Deciding what to serve at a crop can be tricky. But it’s always best to stick with “finger-food” and have plenty of napkins and paper towels on hand because you don’t want your fingers touching a valuable picture after you’ve just used your fingers to indulge in a chocolate cupcake.
I have a new section on my blog here, which is a recipe section that gives recipes for some of the food in Secrets. But I thought I’d share a few here today—along with a little information about my characters.

Hummus
When Annie brought hummus to share with the scrapbook club, most of them had never had it before and, at first, they were put-off by the way it looked. But, to be polite, they each took a bite and were surprised to find that it was delicious. They all asked Annie for the recipe.
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 1-pound 3-ounce cans chick-peas, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup well stirred sesame tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 cup olive oil, or to taste

Mince and mash the garlic to a paste with the salt. Purée the chick-peas with the garlic paste, the tahini, the lemon juice, the oil, and 1/2 cup water, scraping down the sides, until the hummus is smooth and add salt to taste. Add water, if necessary, to thin the hummus to the desired consistency and transfer the hummus to a bowl. The hummus can be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Divide the hummus between shallow serving dishes and smooth the tops. Serve the hummus with pita bread, raw vegetables, or both.


Cheese Biscuits
Paige missed these biscuits at the crop because she was spending the weekend with her son, Randy. But never fear, DeeAnn whipped her up a batch and had them waiting for her on her return.

2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup grated sharp Cheddar
1 cup buttermilk
Salt
1/4 stick butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, to taste, and sugar together using a fork; cut in shortening until it resembles cornmeal. Add cheese. Stir in buttermilk all at one time just until blended. Do not over stir.
Drop by tablespoonfuls, or use an ice cream scoop, onto a well-greased baking sheet. Brush dough with melted butter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Am I a Scrapbooker? WHAT?!?!

Yesterday, I wrote about the lessons I’ve learned from my readers here on my own blog. I was the guest at a mystery readers group at a local bookstore. At first, it was a bit nerve wracking. But it turned out well—readers love writers and writers love readers. It’s a fascinating symbiotic relationship.
One of the things we discussed was the scrapbooking element in SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS. Am I a scrapbooker? Would I have a plot without the scrapbooking? Yes to the first question. No to the second. If you pulled the scrapbook of secrets out of my book, there would not be a thread that ties all of the other stories together. It’s that simple. I don’t think this is true in all craft mysteries, though I am no expert in them. Many that I’ve read could switch from one craft to the other and there would be no real plot problem with it. There is no right way and no wrong way. It’s simply a different way.
And yes, I am a scrapbooker. I’m not an expert, like Joanna Campbell Slan, my fab blog sistah. I’m just a mom who tries very hard to find the time to keep up with it, which can be a challenge. Recently I’ve caught up on my Halloween scrapbook and I’m thinking hard about a mini-scrapbook about our trip to New York to celebrate my daughter’s thirteen birthday. Scrapbooking, for me, is a lot like writing, in that if I am not doing it, I’m thinking about it. So when I sit down to do it, I am SO ready that things just really flow.
How about you? How do you find the time for fun projects in your hectic lives?

Rain Storms and Readers

Greetings from about a month in to the release of my first novel, SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS. Yeah, what you hear from authors, particularly debut authors, is that it’s hard, hard, hard to get publicity and get your book in the hands of potential readers. And it is. The first few weeks of launch is exhausting—full of the highs of great reviews and much attention and the lows of those stinker-reviews that leave you wondering if they read your book at all. But sometimes, you find moments of inspiration in all the madness.
Like the other day for example. I was appearing at the Library of Virginia in Richmond. We were expecting some rain storms. I thought nobody would show up. Everybody knows people don’t like to come out during rain storms. I know I don’t. But I was the author, so I sucked it up, put my rain boots on and made the drive. About fifteen hardy book-buying folks showed up. Fifteen? I was thrilled. They came out in the storm, listened to me speaking at the podium, and asked thoughtful, intelligent questions, then bought my books. What more could a writer hope for?
I wrote a bit about this on my own blog here. But I have to tell you, every time I meet with readers, I am so touched that they are taking time in their busy lives to read my books—and to come out to meet me, let alone in rain storms.
It is humbling, friends. It truly is. I may not ever make millions from my writing, or become a household name. But I have touched a few readers. That is what it's all about, after all.

Inquiring Minds

I was recently at a mystery writers panel at the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Va. One of the questions we were asked by our moderator was about our craft—no not the craft of writing, but the craft we’re using in our books. Why did we choose it? It gave me pause.
I had never thought to write a “scrapbooking mystery” when I first started writing SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS. In fact, when I first started writing it, I thought of it more as women’s fiction. But as I started down that path during National Novel Writing month a few years back, something didn’t feel right. But I kept writing.
I had disjointed narratives, characters coming and going, and a big bunch of adjectives and adverbs going nowhere. I mentioned it to my agent, who helped me place the mystery structure to it. She said, “It sounds like a mystery.” Hmph.
The next thing I knew I was on creative fire and couldn’t stop writing it. And wouldn’t you know it, my favorite hobby was front and center in the story line. Funny how that happens.
The thing about hobbies is that if you have one, it’s bound to find it’s way in to your writing. It’s not forced or strained—or just a marketing strategy. Well, for most of us, that is. And scrapbooking isn’t just about pretty paper. There’s also a puzzle quality to it, a social aspect, and a deeper meaning to it.
In the first book in my Cumberland Creek Series, the mystery is partially solved by the scrapbookers through scrapbooking. I wouldn’t have a plot without it. In my second book, the same scrapbookers are tearing apart a scrapbook of a mysterious nature to figure things out.
So I wonder about this subgenre of mystery. And I wonder about our readers. Do you read a book just because it includes a hobby you’re interested in? Or is the writer you follow? The mystery? What is it?
For the writers out there, what comes first when you get an idea for a novel—your craft? Your story? Your characters?
Sorry for being so full of questions today, but inquiring minds, dontchyaknow.