Book Release

The book is done and published through Lulu, an independent publisher headquartered in Raleigh.

I am not a great sales person, but if you are so inclined, please feel free to buy a book! I have established a 10% discount for books bought off Lulu. The book will also be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in about six weeks.

Buy your copy here:

So Slack!

I haven't written in quite awhile, but things sure are happening since my last post.

First, I have returned to school to work on my masters in employment relations at Penn State University. It is all online, but the work is still intense. I did well the first semester, and have another challenging class this semester. It will take me about four years to finish, but it will be worth it. I wanted to wait until there was a comprehensive program online from an accredited and respectable school.

Second, the Murder in the Old Courthouse is set for release within a week or so. I have chosen to self-publish through Lulu, a company based nearby in Raleigh, NC. They will market my book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and their own buying interface. I have offered a discount if it is bought through their website, so I am encouraging people to visit there. I finished editing the proof copy yesterday, and am awaiting a final copy before I sign off on it and release it for everyone. I'll keep you posted! If this thing really takes off, I may start a separate blog about its progress, etc.

Whew!

To Write, Perchance to Dream

My progress thus far on my second book, Murder in Town Hall has been very slow. A pesky little thing called work keeps getting in the way.

My job is incredibly stressful, so writing provides a great release. My problem has been unplugging long enough from the paycheck to be able to enjoy the writing part. I must make more time!

My vacation is soon, and we are going to Virginia Beach with my family. This is the fourth year we have assembled for one week during the summer to get away and enjoy each other's company. Eight people and two kids in one house. I cannot wait.

In other groundbreaking news, my parents are moving back to WI. They have lived in NC for fifteen years now, but it has never been home like WI is. I don't blame them, and they deserve to begin their partial retirement wherever they darn well please. I will miss them terribly, but know my brother Chris will enjoy having them so close.

I need to recommit to writing without sacrificing my paycheck job. There is the lottery, however...

2010 Update

I haven't written in awhile, but here's quick update!

My first book is with an agent in NYC being reviewed. I am working on the second, Murder in Town Hall. I am done with plot design and started writing in earnest. I spent last Friday at the library at Duke typing my heart out. I enjoy going to a library where I am not distracted easily. Duke is beautiful, just a little hard to park in the same zip code as the library without paying through the nose. I am going to try to devote one day per month to writing, though I will likely not be able to take off work once a month. I'll burn a Saturday or two in the library.

Eric and I are waiting on the adoption thing; we are licensed and now waiting for a good match. We would love to adopt a sibling group up to age eight. The process to be license took so long, my patience is thin at times...bring on the kids!

My family has another blog at http://chandreadventures.blogspot.com/ if anyone would like to check it out. My brothers are hysterical, and we've enjoyed the discourse so far.

I'll check back again when I hear from the agent. I sent the full manuscript on January 11, 2010, so hopefully I'll hear soon.

Viva Cuba

For the seventh time, my family has celebrated at the holidays with an ethnic-themed meal. This year was my choice, and I chose Cuban cuisine. My husband and I spent this year researching (i.e. eating at Havana Grill in Cary) different menu options, and I choice a little something for everyone. We bumped up our schedule to have the meal at Thanksgiving, when my entire family was present. Eight adults and two kids cooking Cuban food, with Cuban music in the background. Good times.

Our beverage was mojitos, now a popular drink, but Cuban in origin. As an appetizer, we had Cuban corn fritters and Cuban sandwiches. Making the Cuban sandwiches was challenging, and my ever-resourceful father came up with a great way to “press” them together. Placing the sandwiches on the electric griddle, he put a cookie sheet on top with four foil-covered bricks from the garden on top. It had the desired effect, and the sandwiches were fantastic.

Our salad course was an avocado and pineapple salad, which is added to iceberg lettuce and sliced onions. We had two main dishes, arroz con pollo cubano (chicken and rice), and ropa vieja (shredded beef in a tomato base). Ropa vieja is literally translated as “old clothes” and involves the boiling of a tougher cut of beef until tender and simmering in a sofrito (tomato-based) sauce. Muy bien!

We also had a couple of side dishes, including a Cuban bean salad and platillos moros y cristianos (black beans and white rice), which is the national dish of Cuba. It literally translates as “moors” and “Christians”. The moors refers to the black beans, and the Christians (the white rice) is a a reference to the early settlers of Cuba.

Our dessert, compliments of Sandra Sublett, was a chocolate rum cake with Cuban coffee. Many thanks to Sandra for her wonderful cake, and to Elizabeth Plata for all her help with the menu and the translation of the blessing.

Needless to say, we were stuffed. Next year’s choice was announced at dessert. Northern Italian is the cuisine, and we move from alimento bueno to buono cibo.

Ciao!

House Re-do

We are done with the renovations/redecorating of the house. The carpet has been replaced, and the bedrooms upstairs are completed. Here are a couple of pics.

Plan B

No, not the day-after thing. Plan B with the book!

The first publisher I sent it to finally got in touch to say they were not interested in taking my project any further in their process. No sweat here...getting to the third step with the first publisher I sent it to? Good sign. Now I am looking for the right one to send it to next. Because you can only send to one at a time and it takes sooooo long to hear back sometimes (took 11 months for the first one), I want to make the right choice. I am going to sit down this weekend and go through my Writers Guide and decide on one.