Wednesday Words 2.21

I feel like crap today. Heinously anxious, headachey, jittery, exhausted from lack of sleep.

Whenever I have psychic pain it always becomes physical for me. I’m fighting with a friend. Maybe still a friend? I don’t really know. She isn’t talking to me right now.

For several nights, I’ve been unable to shut my head off to sleep. Dealing with massive emotional stress. Which means multiple runs of SVT, which is my body’s default when sleep deprived and stressed. Nothing like the joy of feeling like you’re having a heart attack 6-8 times a day. Wheeee.

All of this makes me not able to focus on my writing, even though for the first time in what feels like months, I have time to write.

Very frustrating.

How is your WIP? Are your plans for 2018 shaping up as you wanted? Are you having to adapt? It’s good for you but sometimes doesn’t feel like it. Do tell me all about it….

Book Review: Delayed Justice

As I mentioned last week, I am in research mode. Delayed Justice: Inside Stories From America’s Best Cold Case Investigators by Jack and Mary Branson is less story and more how to. They use examples from solved cold case files handled by different police and federal agencies to suggest an appropriate method of solving cold cases.

The book itself was a touch repetitive outside of the things said by the detectives and agents they interviewed. This was definitively written for the arm chair detective who’s retired and got caught up in the true crime channel.

On the other hand, I took some really good notes for my novel. It’s a solid book that fills a very small niche. This is not popular reading in my opinion.

Sunday Sup: Ranch Dressing

I know, right?

The hubs decided he wanted to go Keto when we returned from our January flight south for some sun. It’s been an interesting experience so far. It’s new for me, so I am following a lot of recipes and not really making my own yet.

For now, Sunday Sup will cease to be a weekly. I will post when I come up with something yummy and original. But the learning curve is steep.

In the mean time, drench your bacon wrapped meatloaf in this yummy ranch bastardization I made. The original is from The Keto Diet by Leann Vogel.

Whisk together:

1/2 c avocado mayo

1/4 c heavy cream

1 minced clove of garlic

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

two shakes of onion powder

three pinches of lemon salt (toss lemon rind in boring old salt and wait a few weeks. Delicioso!)

half tablespoon of dill pickle juice

and a shake of thyme

Yummy. Don’t keep it in the fridge longer than a week.

 

Happy Little Surprise

I got interviewed again.

This time over at Book Shelf Battler.

A little snippet….

QUESTION 1 – T.A., welcome. I could be wrong, but you seem like a serious person, so I thank you for lowering yourself enough to be interviewed on a blog run by a man who swears he talks to aliens. I’m telling you, hang on a year or two and you’ll be interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, who only acts like he is a space alien.

History. You might have told me but I don’t remember because I’m not a good historian, but I’m wondering how you got into writing historic fiction. Give the history of your historic obsession to my 3.5 readers, or to my 2.5 readers, since you are a reader.

ANSWER: One day the window got left window open and I crawled out on to the ledge. Uncle Bob tried to chase me back in but I was scared, who wouldn’t be? Uncle Bob is creepy, and so I jumped up on the roof. Bob kept coming though. He got out this weird metal contraption and bam it slammed into the edge of the roof. So I ran to the other side. But the shingles were loose and as I tried to jump to the nearby oak I slipped. And fell. 3 stories. Into the road. Amazon was making a Prime delivery and wouldn’t you know it, I got hit by a load of….wait what was the question?

Oh, how I came to be a historical writer, yeah. I fell into it. What else do you do with a degree in history and no chance to teach because your hubs got transferred and you have no connections in the local community college scene.? LOL.

 

Read the whole thing if you’re inclined.

Fiendish Friday: Bad Decisions

So I’ve been watching various documentary investigative shows to get a feel for how cold cases are handled. More research. I do a lot of research.

I watched one recently where a guy turned up dead in an alley.

When they dig into his life they find he had been involved with a married woman for about nine months at the time of his death.

Oopsie.

Then they find, this woman’s husband is an enforcer…

Double oopsie.

Wait for it,

For the largest cocaine distributor in Miami.

Bwahahahahahaha.

It’s amazing he lived as long as he did.

I’m wondering if he was suicidal? I mean, who gets involved with a woman under those circumstances?

 

Wednesday Words 2.14

It’s apparently Valentine’s Day. I got my first clue it was coming when I took a girlfriend to my favorite Lularoe dealer this past Sunday. She gave away Valentine’s leggings with every purchase.

Then this morning my father in law calls me.

“I just wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. It’s so nice to hear your voice.”

I do have an awesome phone voice.

“And I wanted you to know if (insert hubs name here) doesn’t do anything for Valentine’s Day, it’s not his fault. I never did anything for his mom when he was growing up.”

That’s stinkin’ cute.

We don’t actually do Valentine’s Day in my house. Our dating anniversary was like five days before Valentine’s so it seemed pointless. And then once we got married…whatever.

I actually texted my hubs to warn him I already bought flowers while getting groceries so not to get guilted into buying any on the way home from work. ROFL

The kiddo went to school today. Thank god. Wednesday is the one day a week he goes to class for 6 hours without me. But he hadn’t been since before Thanksgiving, long story about that, he went today. I have time to write and yoga, so I’m going to get on that.

PS. Yes, I am a Lularoe devotee. I like to look like I made an effort while feeling like I am wearing pajamas. Lula fits the bill, perfectly.

 

Book Review: Who Killed These Girls?

I’ve been doing some research lately. The second book in my cozy procedural trilogy is set in the cold case squad, and I realized while I knew a lot about standard police practice, forensics, and detective work – cold cases might be a new breed. I better buff up. I hate putting out a book where I just make all the cool stuff up. Truth is so much more interesting.

And Who Killed These Girls: Cold Case: The Yogurt Shop Murders by Beverly Lowry was fascinating. The hubs was working from a lot of the days I was reading this, especially the day I finished the second half of the book because it was so incredible I couldn’t put it down. I kept going into the room he was in to interrupt him and tell him the next shocking thing that happened in the investigation and trial. The info so good enough he didn’t even complain.

Four teenage girls are murdered. Brutally. In a yogurt shop. Then set on fire. Heinous crime by any standards. But as years roll by and they have no one to blame. Things get worse.

Lowry interviewed everyone, she read whatever she could get her hands on, including trial transcripts. She put together a very balanced look at the case. At no point does she make any interjections on the guilt or blame. She attempts to really show how the case impacted everyone involved.

Except the guy I think did it. Yup, I have a theory from reading the evidence, such as it was. But what do I know, I’m just an author.

Fascinating look at how investigation go wrong. Where tiny little mistakes pile up into big holes, leaving enough room for a killer to escape.

 

Sunday Sup: Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

Yup, a chocolate version was born. I changed my base recipe. Using this one as a starting point, I have made chocolate versions of these before as cookies so it was easy.

Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

Preheat to 350.

Mix 2 cups of almond flour, 1/2 c gluten free blend, 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/3 c maple syrup, and 1/4 c melted butter.

Press the dough into grease mini muffin tins.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Allow to cool fully. While you are waiting make the filling and caramel topping.

In a medium sauce pan combine 1 cup full fat coconut milk, 1 c coconut sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook for 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 more minutes or until the caramel coats the back of a spoon. (This is  practically straight from Paleomg.com) This recipe is heinously finicky. You really have to watch it like a hawk, stir frequently, be careful with your times. I’ve scorched this too often to count, but the results are so worth it when it turns out.

Mix cream cheese with maple syrup. I used 8 oz and a 1/4 c but I had a lot of mixture left over. I purposely didn’t make this too sweet. I wanted the cheese to come through.

Once everything is cooled, assemble your bites. Do not try to assemble these in the pan. Pop the crusts out first.

Fill with the cream cheese mixture to the top of the crust then use a spoon to make a slight depression. You want the caramel to run in, not out. LOL

Drizzle with caramel.

IMG_20171225_134216

 

Fiendish Friday: Holy Crud

I like routines. I think you’ve caught that if you ever read my blog at all. I like routines. I also like coffee. In fact, me without coffee is not someone you want to meet in a back alley, or anywhere else. LOL.

I get up, I make coffee, I do a little work for the coop, I read my email, I read posts from the blogs I follow that are already up (I get up fairly early since my ten day run on east coast time, I am trying NOT to adjust back), then I read my daily email from Writer Unboxed. Usually this all takes about half an hour and then I am ready to do real work.

Some days the post from WU gets deleted before I am a paragraph in. Some days, I read half of it before thinking “Oh this is a Donald Maass post.” And some days I finish reading only to sit in my chair dumbfounded. Today was the latter.

One line blew my mind.

Whether they’re changed forever, at this point, is mostly luck; they already made the wrong decision.

Fucccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkk.

The author, Annie Neugebauer,  described what her husband called summit fever. The phenomena that occurs when climbers see the summit in their grasp and toss their carefully crafted plan into the wind, to go for it. It may all work out just fine or they may die.

Then she tied it to the life of a writer. You go read her post if you like, it’s quite good and not at all long, which increases the punch, in my opinion.

But there I sat in my chair, almost empty cup of luke warm coffee clutched in both hands, wondering, did I already make the wrong decision? Am I so focused on the summit, that I am following everyone’s advice even when my instincts tell me no?

I think I am. Damn. Time for a snack break and an evaluation of the plan.

Wednesday Words 2.7

Greetings and Salutations, long lost writing and reading friends.

I went on vacation. Two weeks no internet. Yup it can be done. It really can. Yes, I vaguely missed you all but come on – sun, sea, deck boys with trays of delicious alcoholic beverages…. If the hubs didn’t have that pesky job problem, I wouldn’t have come home.

Sigh

But I’m back. The PacNW is slowly sucking my tan out of me with cold and rain. I have an appt for a pedicure later today and I’m not sure why I bother. My toes won;t be seeing the light of day let alone sun for the next 4 months minimum. LOL

Been reading a lot lately. Including some betas. I think, maybe, I might like fantasy when it’s done well in a modern (ish) setting. ROFL

So where am I at writing wise?

I decided to pen a couple of short stories in an attempt to get into a couple more anthologies this year. We’ll see how that goes.

I have a really momentous decision that is rolling around in the back of my head. But like those donate a quarter machines at the zoo, it just keeps rolling round and round, it’s own velocity keeping it from sliding down the hole. Maybe next time I’ll be ready to share.

How about you? What are you doing with those 50K words you spit out last November? Is your current work in progress hibernating in the winter cold or playing in the snow? Inquiring minds want to know…