Cooking Through Fiction: Levi's Carrot-Apple Hash

One of my favorite parts of having a favorite book (or series) is finding someone else who shares the same love and devotion to the literary work, finding someone who talks about the same characters with as much excitement, irritation, and admiration as I do. This is what makes fandoms so amazing.

Fandoms connect people all across the globe so they can share their mutual love of fictional worlds. For fandoms, even after the original authors have finished the novels, even after the TV series have ended, the stories never stop. Fanfiction continues on and on as long as there are fans to read it.

Years ago, I stumbled into the world of Harry Potter fanfiction, and I’m still thankful for the happy accident. I met wonderful writers (many who are still close friends of mine), hilarious characters, and interesting people who shared my love of all things Harry Potter. Many of us still laugh about stories we read, characters who went crazy, and moral moray eels.

Cooking Through "The Baker's Man": Blood Orange Sauce

Blood oranges not only have a more vibrant, deeper color than regular oranges (such as Naval), but their flavor also is more intense as well. Blood oranges are slightly more bitter (although, at times, some varieties are even sweeter) than regular oranges.

In my opinion, blood oranges are oranges with a kick. This is one way to describe the difference between love and passion. Passion is love with a kick. And this kick can send you to the moon or send you into dark, bitter sections of yourself.

Author Interview — Jennifer Hawes

Social media, although overwhelming at times, offers great avenues to meet new people. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know today’s author via Twitter, but we follow each other on Pinterest as well, and I love seeing what new images and inspirational quotes she has for her audience. Jennifer (great name, by the way) is passionate about her writing, and I am so excited for the release of her first novel.

Quick! Give us the title and genre of your upcoming novel and a 30-word or less tagline. Free Runner — It’s an upper mid-grade contemporary/action/adventure novel with a heavy dose of mystery thriller. Fourteen-year-old Cam White is forced to exchange his SoCal life for London. He steps off the plane and into the pages of a crime novel. Only one kid can dodge bullets and bad guys and live to tell about it—the FREE RUNNER.

What lures you to write young adult novels? My name is Jennifer, and I am addicted to YA lit.

Me too, Jennifer.

How did you come up with the title of your novel? [Free running is] not only the fastest growing extreme sport in the world, but it’s the essence of the main character.

I’ve never heard of free running before. What is it about it that has captured your attention? I’ve been a runner for a LONG time, but it was my sixteen-year-old son who introduced me to free running. The art of defying gravity with the human body won me over. 

Cooking Through Fiction: Boone Crowe's Beef Stew

I learned how to ride a horse when I was young. I’m by no means an expert, but I feel okay about saddling up and taking a ride. I’ve ridden trails through the deserts in Arizona and across mountains (way too close to a ravine) in Montana. At the top of the mountain in Montana, my family and I settled in for a “cowboy dinner.”

While we ate steak and potatoes, I’m not sure how many of us actually felt like cowboys. I think we were just glad to be away from the “ravine of death” and probably thankful we could all stop praying that our horses didn’t plummet down into darkness (a.k.a. the ravine of death).

Cooking Through "The Baker's Man": Passion Fruit Torte

Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged people to do one thing every day that scared them. I have often tried to incorporate this ideology into my life. Baking a new recipe can sometimes fall into the category of “scary attempts.” I’ve ruined chocolate torts (and cried), dried out cakes (and cursed), and had cakes that refused to set (and swore I’d give up baking).

Today I baked my first passion fruit torte based on a recipe I had never tested. Trying new recipes can either go swimmingly or end up added to the epic fail list. So as the hot passion fruit icing flung from the mixer like streams of sticky, lava-like, sugary goo and coated my hair, face, and clothes, I knew this just might not turn out okay.

My Writing Process – On the Blog Tour

It’s blog tour day, and I’m excited to be able to help promote other writers and their craft! Last week, my Twitter friend and fellow writer Jay Scott discussed his upcoming novel 122 Rules, and I can’t wait to buy a copy!

What am I working on?

I’m in the middle of two projects. The first project is a young adult fantasy–The Wickenstaffs’ Journey–I co-created with one of my best friends, Julianne St. Clair. We make a great team, and it’s been a rewarding experience working with her. She’s also drawn amazing illustrations for the novel. We’re revising the manuscript at present and hope to have it ready for print in early 2014.

The second project is a contemporary magical realism novel set in the same town I wrote about in my first published novel, The Baker’s Man. This newest installment follows a few of the same characters that readers will recognize from Mystic Water, but with new faces sprinkled into the story. I’m working on this novel during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), so I hope to reach my goal of 50,000 words by the end of this month. After editing and revisions, I hope to have the novel published in early 2014.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

There aren’t a lot of current magical realism novels on the market. I think Sarah Addison Allen is a great example of tossing a bit of magic into a novel, and I admire her work. I’d like to think I have my own voice, which is unlike anyone else in the genre, and that’s what makes me unique.

Why do I write what I write?

Like most writers, I can’t always control the stories that come to me. Most often I feel as though they sneak up on me–usually during the most inconvenient times (hello, nighttime while I’m trying to sleep)­–and they demand to be written. This usually happens when I’m in the middle of writing another story, so I have to stop, make extensive notes, and promise the story I won’t forget about it and I will write it.

As for why I write the type of stories I write: Roald Dahl said: “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” I think there’s magic all around us. In a sunset, in birdsong, in the stars, in the blown seeds of a dandelion. I love recreating that feeling in my novels. Plus, I’m a sucker for happy endings.

How does your writing process work?

After a story shows up and demands to be written, I brainstorm a little, but then I start writing soon after. I normally write a few chapters before I need to stop and outline where the story is going. I don’t outline every minute detail because I like to leave a little wiggle room for my characters and for the plot, but I do not want to haphazardly write without a destination in mind. That feels too much like an accident waiting to happen (or a plot hole waiting to be created). I normally know I want to get from A to B, but I don’t always know how I’m going to get there, which allows for creativity and surprises.

The most difficult part about writing for me is finding the time to write. I work full-time at a publishing house, and my job keeps me busy. I try to get up by 5 a.m. in the mornings to write before work, and then I write during my lunch hour. I try to make up for lost time during the weekends. I even have a voice recorder on my phone so that I can talk to it during my rush hour commute (in case ideas pop into my head while I’m driving).

What I like to have when I write: hot tea or water, music, peace of mind, and a clean space.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post! Next week you can learn more about my friend Jackson’s writing process. Stay tuned!

NEXT WEEK

Jackson Paul Baer – Fiction writer in the literary fiction genre with blends of mystery, suspense, and even a few thrills. Author of the newly released literary suspense, The Earth Bleeds Red. Jackson is signed with Pandamoon Publishing and is currently writing a literary psychological thriller.

Cooking Through Fiction: Boone Crowe Buttermilk Biscuits

I remember watching westerns on TV with my daddy when I was a little girl. Normally, when I’m home for the holidays, there’s still bound to be a western or two watched. Because most westerns follow a specific pattern, we like knowing what’s going to happen, laughing about the swooning-but-tough-girl leading ladies, and knowing without a doubt that the good guy is going to win.

I don’t know if it’s because of these westerns or because I would have always had this specific adoration, but I have a special love for real cowboys. What’s not to love? Tough guys with compassion, their ability to protect, they serve justice, they can ride a horse, they can tame wild mustangs (but would probably let them roam free), they’re handsome (aren’t they all?), they wear jeans that really fit, and this list could go on and on.