Elizabeth G: Time Flies!

When my friend and fellow Quill, the talented Stella Cameron, pointed out to me a couple of weeks ago that RWQ debuted in 2006, I was skeptical. Au Contraire, I exclaimed, surely it can't be that long ago.

So, I looked back in my files and there it was: Blog #1 on January 1, 2006.

Stella was right! I was wrong. I was also flabbergasted. Even dumbfounded. That’s over 2½ years ago, folks. Who knew we’d still be going strong in the summer of 2008.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. I'd like to take a moment to express my personal “thanks” to Celeste and Cissy (without whom I'd never have a photo or a graphic to go with my little rantings), to my fellow Quills, to the readers who stop by and to those who also take the time and energy to post comments. And to the interesting variety of guests who visit and share their stories and books with us.

We are a community of readers and writers. We share our opinions, our experiences, our recommended reads, sometimes even our recipes. :-) (See my recent blog about searching for veggies to go with the Perfect Salmon.)

So, thank you one and all.

Now please tell me (because I've always been the curious sort): What keeps you coming back to RWQ?

Happy Blogging!
~EG

JAYNE’S EXCERPT FROM DARK LIGHT

Greetings, friends, the next Jayne Castle novel in my Ghost Hunters series arrives in stores on August 26. For those who enjoy the books, I’ve got a little taste of the story for you. It involves the traditional Ghost Hunter wedding night ritual….

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A fifth ball of energy flared in front of Sierra. Involuntarily, she took another quick step back. She was no expert but it was obvious that the new ghost was hotter and more tightly wound than the others.

“Oh, damn,” she said.

Fontana leaned one shoulder against the wall, folded his arms and contemplated the ghosts as though they were novel inventions he’d never seen before in his life.

“This is for you, Sierra,” Jeff explained earnestly. “The boss is going to show that he’s worthy of you.”

“The only way he gets you is if he gets through our ghosts first,” Simon said.

Kay giggled. There was a lot more muffled laughter in the room, mostly from the women.

This was not about proving anything to the bride, Sierra thought. It was about generating a lot of ghost heat. It was common knowledge in certain quarters – hair salons and ladies’ restrooms, for instance -- that hunters got sexually aroused after working ghost light. It had something to do with the testosterone-heavy, bio-psi hormones that flooded their systems when they used their talents.

The rumors about their sexual prowess when they were in the midst of a post-ghost burn were not unfounded, according to women who had dated guild men. There was a reason why the taverns and bars that catered to hunters in the Quarter were also popular with college women on spring break and bachelorette parties.

“No offense,” Sierra said, striving to project firm authority, “But you’ve all had a little too much to drink tonight. I really don’t think any of you should be working ghost light in a confined space.”

They ignored her, watching Fontana for his reaction.

“What do you say, boss?” Andy asked. “Is Sierra worth working your way through five ghosts?”

Fontana looked at her over the tops of the ghosts that bobbed between them.

“Oh, yes,” he said, nerve-shatteringly serious. “She’s worth it.”

Dog Days of Summer Contest - and Old Dogs Writing...

Hey everyone!

Happy Friday to all of you! I have some things to tell you about MY Friday, but first I want to say that today is a very SPECIAL Friday, because we're doing a...

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
CONTEST

We at Quills want to reward all you lovely folk for visiting with us each day, and being so fun and supportive and friendly. So we've gathered up some goodies and put them together to make a nice prize package. I hope you like it!

From now until August 29th, everyone who posts a comment to ANY of the blogs listed between those two dates will be eligible to win.

One of the Quills will randomly draw a name from all the posts, and the winner will be announced here on the blog - so be sure to check back on August 29th to see if you're the lucky person!

Once you respond (privately) with your address, we'll individually send out our prize donations to you.

So what are those donations, you ask?

So what do you think!? Lots of great goodies, right?
Naturally the books will autographed!

If you're reading this, you're already here. Just drop in a post about the contest or my blog below, and you're entered!

Be sure to come back for each blog from each of the Quill authors to keep on entering.
Good luck to everyone!

And now to the "Old Dog" part of this blog.
I am an old dog, and I'm not sure I can be taught any new tricks.
My first book was published back in December of 1996. Since then, I've set myself into a pattern of writing that's made me pretty productive.

I write at my desk.
I face a window.
I burn candles
I play loud music.
My doggies are close at hand.
I feed my face with munchies.

Yeah, it works for me.
Over the past 12 years, I've written somewhere over 80 stories, including single titles, novellas and category books.

So what's the deal, you ask?

Well, I've finished my ultra short novella for the June 09 release, TAILS OF LOVE anthology (where all author and agent proceeds go to the AAF, Animal Adoption Foundation) and now I need to start on my related, Dark-to-Light novellas.

So... I'm going to try something totally new.
I want to see if I can write in my RV.
This is HUGE for me, because I'm a total creature of habit. I LIKE sitting at my desk, with my dogs near me, a drink close at hand (non-alcoholic, as you know, cuz I'm a tee-totaler) and loud music playing.
Writing in the RV - on my laptop - with traffic going by - while hubby drives - well, it's all going to be so different and strange.

But if I can do it, it'll be the perfect set up!

Since we finally got the RV out of the barn (where it got stowed while my sis was with us, recovering) we've been going somewhere nearly every weekend, and sometimes during the week. I had no idea that RVing was so much fun, but I love it and I don't want to miss out on all the wonderful places we can visit over the summer.

I'm thinking I can write while hubby drives, and maybe in the early mornings while he walks the dogs and stuff. This would be such a great balance in my life - IF I can work it out.
Just think, we could practically travel year round if I can get my brain wrapped around writing in different places.
But you know, I really am an old dog to start learning new tricks!

What about you?
Are you a flexible, work anywhere person, or do you like a pattern?
Have you ever had to majorly switch up your life?
I know divorce, death, health can make us accept huge changes whether we want to or not.
And I've heard a lot of women (and some men) say that when a spouse retires, it turns their life upside down.
Some moms have had a hard adjustment to their kids starting school, or sometimes, returning home from school! LOL

Have you ever been forced through a change that later proved to work out better for you?
What about a change that you're still adjusting to?

Let me know - and wish me luck on my new writing experiments!
HUGS to all!

ELIZABETH DOESN'T GROK JPG

This was going to be a really cool, see-what-I-did-on-my-vacation blog, until I ran into problems posting jpgs.



*sound of train wreck in background*



My usual jpg guru was leaving for San Francisco and didn't have time to help me out -- aka, do the ruddy things for me.



*sound of train wreck in foreground*



I've deliberately avoided learning some (okay, most) techie tricks, but I tried some jigging and jagging and jpging on my own.



*sound of train wreck everywhere*



*Elizabeth crawls out, whimpering and waving white flag*



So, here's how it's going to be: In two weeks I'll either have learned how to post jpgs (HA) or my guru will be back online.



Then I'll bore the bloomers off you with my vacation pics.



:-)


Until then, I'll hope that I'm not the only militant tech incompetent in the world.




*sound of forehead banging on keyboard*

Stella Cameron's CYPRESS NIGHTS

CYPRESS NIGHTS IS ON SALE and it's a good morning here. I hope it's a wonderful morning where you are. This book kept me up a lot of nights but in the best way; I couldn't leave the story alone! Now it's time for me to let go...

Let me know what you think, of the video but most of all, of the book:)

All the best,

Stella

Stella and Susan are CUTTING LOOSE!

Stella: So, Susan, it’s almost time for Cutting Loose to hit the shelves.

Susan: I know! See this cheesy grin? I can’t stop smiling—I LOVE this time of year. Spotting my
book on supermarket or bookstore shelves is a thrill that hasn’t changed for me since Shadow Dance first landed on one in September of ‘89. But, hey, I don’t need to tell you. I’m sure the Oh-my-gawd-that’s-MY-book-up-there! factor is the same for all the Quills.

Stella: Yes, it’s a lovely feeling.

Susan: And you all get to see your books on the shelves two or three times a year. Not to be a whiner or anything, but I’m a one-book-a-year woman.

Okay, so maybe I am whining a little. Still, I’m making the most of my day, or week, or month (she said hopefully) in the sun. Wait, let me demonstrate. Watch! This is my happy dance.

Stella :::wincing::: Don’t do that.

Susan: You’re probably right. :::realigns elbows and knees so they no longer stick out in so many awkward angles::: I’ll save the happy dance for the privacy of my own home. It’s not real pretty, but what the heck, it makes me feel good. And it’s not like I’m cutting the heads off chickens or anything.

Stella: Saving that for the getting-on-the-lists ritual?

Susan: Well, yeah. Can’t find a virgin these days.

Stella: O-kay--not going there. So, about the book. Aren’t you jumping the gun a little? Cutting Loose isn’t even out yet, is it?

Susan: Its actual street date is July 29th-- next Tuesday--but I’m getting ready to leave town and racing to finish up my next book, so we’re talkin’ it up early. And face it, the lay-down isn’t that strict anyway, so it probably is in some of the stores. But chances of scoring a copy go up after Monday.

Stella: This is the first of a brand new trilogy, right?

Susan: Yep--one I’m calling the Sisterhood Diaries, featuring three women, Jane Kaplinski, Poppy Calloway and Ava Spencer, who have been best friends since the fourth grade. They’ve inherited an infamously ugly Seattle mansion. I’m kicking the series off with Jane’s story.

Stella: And our hero is on the scene to renovate the ugly mansion.

Susan: Yes. Devlin Kavanagh is from a huge Irish-American clan. He has a problem with the inherent lack of privacy that goes hand-in-hand with large families and has been crewing yachts around Europe for the last umpteen years. But he’s home now to lend a hand in the family construction business while his brother Bren goes through chemotherapy.

Stella: And he and Jane hit it off right away?

Susan: Shyeah, right (as Jayne’s dust bunny Elvis says with such impeccable sarcasm). They are, of course, exact opposites. Jane grew up with second rate actor parents who lived for drama on and off the stage. She craves stability. Dev’s footloose.

Stella: Yet, their attraction is burning-down-the-house hot!

Susan: You gotta love chemistry, right? But Loose is about friends and family as well. Add to all that a bad guy with serious envy issues and a loan shark on his ass, setting his sights on the mansion full of priceless collections--

Stella: --And things are about to cut loose.

Susan :::doing the happy dance again::: Yes, ma’am! Things are about to cut loose big time.

Stella: And I've had way too much fun Cutting Loose with this story! Now it's everyone else's turn.

VEGGIE TALES or EG bites off more than she can chew.

ANYONE CAN COOK: That’s one of the messages of the delightful 2007 animated feature film from Disney/Pixar, “Ratatouille.”

Have I mentioned before here at RWQ that “Ratatouille” is one of my favorite movies of the past several years? If not, let me go on record right now: This is a clever, funny, poignant, even thoughtful movie, AND it’s set in Paris, a city I love. Plus, “Ratatouille” has the cutest little furry hero who is also a talented chef and a wonderful human being.

Well, not exactly a human being. More like a . . . rat.

I’ll admit at first the thought of a rat in the kitchen kind of put me off my “feed.” But before long I ceased to think of Remy as a rat and began to think of him as “Little Chef.”

At this point you may be asking yourself, where is this little rant of Elizabeth G's going? Patience, my friends, and all will be revealed.

I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but the movies lie. They're pure fiction. EVERYONE CANNOT COOK. For example, I can’t. Which makes it even more amazing (one could say mind-boggling) that I have finally learned how to “make” the perfect salmon filet.

Yes, me!

It’s the easiest recipe in the world, too. (How else could I manage it?) And I’m going to share it with you in exchange for the VEGGIE TALES mentioned in the title of this blog.

Here's the deal: I’ll tell you how I made the perfect salmon filets AND then you’re going to volunteer an easy vegetable dish to go with them. Emphasis on the “easy.” Remember, this is me, the cooking-challenged Quill. (But if I have to eat one more bag of frozen peas and corn . . . well, you get my drift.)

So here are the ingredients you’ll need for the Perfect Salmon:

~2 fresh salmon filets, 6-8 oz. each (fresh, wild Alaskan salmon, if you can get your mitts on it.)
~3 Tablespoons of good olive oil
~3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
~salt and pepper to taste

Place the salmon filets in a shallow dish. Sprinkle the olive oil and lemon juice over the salmon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Heat a nonstick electric fry pan (or any nonstick fry pan, I suppose) to medium high. Lift the filets out of the marinate and place them in the fry pan for 3-4 minutes, skin-side down. (Might be a good idea to have one of those splatter screens handy so you don't get hit by any flying hot oil.)

Then put the lid on, turn the heat down to medium and wait. This was the tricky part. I didn’t want to overcook the salmon (as I’ve done numerous times before), but I also don’t like my salmon rare on the inside. So I waited another 4-5 minutes.

TRUTH TO TELL: At that point I tested my filet and it was still a tad rare for me, so I popped it into the microwave for one minute. (Sacrilege, some will say.) Anyway, then it was perfect . . . for my tastes.

I even concocted a little sauce on the side using several large dollops of mayonnaise blended with a dash of dill weed, lemon peel, and Beau Monde (again to taste.)

The salmon was delicious! And my husband is still raving about it.

Now it’s your turn to help me out. I need some simple veggie dishes to go with my triumphant salmon filets. So, spill the beans and please share them with me.

Bon Appétit!
~EG