Let's Talk Turkey

Hi everyone,

I'm feeling a bit brain-fried right now. So here's my question. Who fries their Thanksgiving turkey?

I've always been a roasted turkey girl. While dipping a large bird into a vat of hot oil over an open flame sounds like loads of fun, stuffing the turkey and leaving it in the oven for hours so the house is warm and smells nice, like rosemary and onions, all day is the only way to go for me.

Pumpkin and apple pies are also staples, along with mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, fresh bread, gravy, cranberry sauce, nuts, cheese, and wine.

I guess I like to keep it simple. Some traditional menu items that never seem to make it to my table are sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. I'll admit, I'm not the biggest bean fan. Occasionally I'll lightly steam and then toss green beans in some olive oil and garlic and serve that for a little color on the plates. They're good that way.

You know what else is good? Hand whipped cream on those pies.

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to handle things since I've had to go low fat in my diet. We'll see how T-day goes, but I'm looking forward to it. I like to cook. I love a big dinner with at least some of my family. It should be fun.

So what dishes have to make it to the table for it to officially be Thanksgiving for you?

Anyone care to swap recipes?

New Excerpt is Up!

Just a quick announcement to let you guys know the first chapter has been posted on my website for Beyond the Shadows coming this May!

Let me know what you think!

I'm excited about this one.

Jess

The Power of Positive

Hi everyone,

It's a good day. Why? Because it is.

There's no reason for it. Perhaps I can define it as good because the sun is out. Perhaps it is better than most because we're all finally over the flu. Maybe it is extra good because I baked banana nut oatmeal cookies yesterday.

But I don't think that's the reason. I think it is good because it is.

Sometimes it is just great to be alive and you don't need a reason to justify it.

Life is good and I am happy.

To help spread the love, here's the cookie recipe from yesterday.

Mash four ripe bananas in a large bowl.

Add 1 cup softened butter
1cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs

Mix together until smooth.

Add 2 cups flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups uncooked oats
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix, spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 11-12 min.

And have a happy day!

Jess

Special Guest, Savannah J. Foley

It will be my pleasure from time to time to introduce some special guests to the Butterfly Blog. Look for special guest posts popping up on random Thursdays. If you would like to contribute a guest blog, send me an email through the contact page of my website, and we can chat about it. Several generous authors welcomed me last year when I was trying to get my name out there, and I'm happy to pay it forward.

So today, it's my pleasure to welcome fellow Bradford Babe, Savannah J. Foley to the Butterfly Blog. She's a very talented young author with an exciting new project. Take it away, Savannah!

Jess

Hello everyone! Thank you for allowing me to reach out to you today as a guest writer here at The Butterfly Blog. My name is Savannah J. Foley and I’m represented by the same agent as Jess. You might have seen me a few months ago over at The Bradford Bunch talking about my first novel, Antebellum.

Today, however, I’d like to step away from talking about my book (though if you wanted to read an excerpt it’s totally available for you here and instead talk to you about two other things: A super-cool blog project recently started which I am a part of, and also looking at writing as a mental disorder.

Yes, if you’re a writer, I am calling you crazy, and we’ll get into why in just a few paragraphs.

Firstly, I’d like to introduce you to Let The Words Flow (LTWF). LTWF is a blog collaboration project by 8 current and former writers on Fictionpress.com. We have some pretty big names on our contributors list, such as Mandy Hubbard, who recently published her first novel Prada and Prejudice, and Sarah J. Maas, whose novel Queen of Glass was one of the most popular stories on Fictionpress (it certainly beat mine in some third-party voting competitions!)

We all got together because we are serious, young writers who wanted to reach out to our fans and let them know what we’re up to and offer advice on different topics. This leads me to the second half of what I wanted to share with you today: an article I wrote entitled “On Inspiration and Trusting Your Instincts, or, Writing as a Mental Disorder.” Isn’t that a fun title?

Whether you’re a writer or a reader, you are probably fascinated with the writing process, even from just a “how do they come up with these things?” perspective. It’s a question I often hear asked, and have asked myself on numerous occasions. When I was younger I read an article in which a writer lamented how unfamiliar his public was with the writing process and where inspiration comes from. “It’s not some secret we’re keeping from everyone,” he said. I later heard a female writer proclaim there wasn’t some secret room in the universe that writers could access for inspiration and no one else could (though she wished there was).

So we’re all on our own out here? ‘No man is an island’ but all writers have to be one? Huh?

The truth is that there really is a secret room in the universe that we all go to: our brains. Your subconscious mind is always working, always planning, even/especially when you’re asleep. What this means is that sometimes writers will be typing along, all convinced we know what’s going to happen and have this whole plot worked out, and then BAM our subconscious pulls a fast one and sneaks its own little plot device into the story.

‘Where did that come from?’ we wonder. ‘Did I do that?’

Sometimes writing can be like having a mental disorder. If you listen to any writer long enough they’ll start saying things to make you convinced they’re a few show ponies short of a full circus, and the circus is all in their heads. I’m not the only one who feels this way. Consider the words of E.L. Doctorow: “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.”

There, now doesn’t that make you better? I’m sure you suspected it all along; writers are just full-on crazy.

To read more about writing as a mental disorder and learning to listen to and trust that crazy part of yourself, click here to visit the full article at Let the Words Flow, and thank you so much for letting me be a part of your lives here today at The Butterfly Blog.



-Savannah J. Foley

Getting Creative

I think writers, by default, are fairly creative people. I know some of my family teases me about my endless creative endeavors. You'd think I could stick to slightly productive things like making home videos, doing scrapbooks, or actually finishing sewing the last of the Christmas stockings, but no.

This is what I do with too much creative energy.

I play with Lincoln Logs.

This was a pretty cool little building. All three of those structures are tied together and form one large T shaped structure, complete with fence and lookout tower, and a tiny pile of firewood on the side of the entrance. Just watch out for the bear while heading out to get some wood.

I don't know why Lincoln Logs are so stinking fun to play with. I suppose part of it is the simplicity, though I admire the Lincoln Log designers for their perfectly structured logs that don't roll or tip, and interlock so perfectly. That didn't happen by accident. Someone put some thought into that. It was their job. How weird is that thought?

I remember when I was young, Lincoln Logs weren't as much fun for me, because the roof pieces were all plastic, and I couldn't get the roof slats to stick. I prefer the all wood sets now. Again, simplicity is best.

Here's another example of my creative energy run amok. As we got closer to Halloween, I couldn't resist baking a cake. It is something I love to do when the weather gets cold. I just couldn't resist decorating it.

Now while my efforts probably won't be featured on Food Network anytime soon, I still had fun making the cake look pretty. The little pumpkins around the edge turned out particularly well. It tasted pretty darn good, too.

Some of my other slightly odd creative outlets: Pumpkin carving, twisting balloon animals, writing slightly naughty haiku and posting them on Twitter, decorating my Sims houses, and playing with puppets.

How about you guys? What are some of your creative outlets?

In other news, Congratulations Tessy! You've won a signed copy of Beyond the Rain. Contact me and I'll ship it out to you.

Also, I'll be posting Ethel once a month for a while, until I get some more work done. I'm going to post it on the last Wednesday of the month, so look for Ethel at the end of the month. Hopefully I can get it going more frequently again.

I hope everyone is enjoying fall as much as I am.

Happy reading everyone,

Jess

Trick or Treat?

Treat! It's a treat!

Happy Halloween everyone! For the occasion, I've got a new costume. Okay, it's a new book cover, but it is deliciously yummy. I've plastered it all over my website.

So sit back, enjoy the eye-candy for a bit.

Mmmmmmm......

Here's the blurb.

A man of deception. A woman of justice. Can their fragile trust be strong enough to prevent a war?

Commander Yara knows perfect leadership requires perfect control and discipline. She has spent years living without the distraction of caring for anything—or anyone. It’s a sacrifice she’s willing to make. Yara has honed herself into the perfect heir to the Azralen throne, but a bloody coup could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for. She must return home to prevent war. Unfortunately the only ship available belongs to an Earthlen trader with no regard for authority—especially hers.

Cyn is a rebel, driven to protect those suffering at the hands of the Elite leaders of Azra. Using his alias to manipulate the lovely but icy commander onto his ship, he has to keep her from Azra long enough to ignite the revolution. But when he awakens a vibrant and feeling woman beneath that icy exterior, he gets more than he bargained for—love. He must find a way to convince Yara to join him, before they get caught in a web of deception that could tear their world apart.

I'm so excited about this book. It is intense. I had a lot of fun writing it, and these two characters sure know how to make the sparks fly. Their verbal sparring alone sizzles, and I can't even think about their actual sparring without blushing a little. Beyond the Shadows will hit the shelves May 4th.

And that's not the end of the treats today.

Beyond the Rain is a bestseller!

It doesn't get any more delicious than that. I'm thrilled.

To celebrate, I feel like giving away a treat. I'll give one commenter on this post a signed copy of Beyond the Rain.

All you have to do is tell me why you want to read it. What have you heard about it that has made you want to pick it up? If you have a copy, and would like a signed one, that's fine too. Just let me know your favorite part of the book. The contest will be open until my regular post next Saturday on November 7th. I'll randomly draw the winner then.

Good luck everyone! Have fun!

Jess

Ready for the Fall

Take a look at that color! This is one of my neighbor's trees, and I have a little leaf envy at the moment. there are some awesome reds in the neighborhood as well, but my trees seem to prefer the faded green to sickly yellow with mottled brown spots look.

Bummer.

It's nice to be able to look across the street at this though. I like fall. I think part of that is because I really like sweatshirts. There is nothing more snuggly that a fluffy new sweatshirt right out of the dryer. Pair that with some new socks and voila, heaven as the weather turns cool.

I'm looking forward to carving pumpkins, and dressing up for Halloween, and looking further toward Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie. I think fall might be my favorite time of year.

Too bad I have to spend the next two weeks locked to my computer doing revisions, but when I need to take a break and get some fresh air, I think I'll go for a walk and take a look at the leaves.

I never had this growing up in California, and I missed it in Florida. This season is one of the best things about living in Ohio. Until I have to rake.

Happy reading everyone. Curl up with a good book. That's another great thing to do on a fall day.

Jess