GRPL Book Fair

On October 15, I joined several authors at the Grand Rapids Public Library for a book fair.  Many, if not all, were connected to Michigan somehow. Most were from Michigan and many had also set their fiction here or examined the history of a particular area.

Wow. Make-up really does make a difference.  I should wear it more often. I should also sit up straight. 

It was great to see so much local talent. Below are a few of my friends.  I apologize to Sidney Ayers, Jennifer Armintrout and Lori Lapekes.  I didn't get your pictures. (Or maybe you are happy about that. :-))

This is WS Gager and her books: A Case of Infatuation, A Case of Accidental Intersection and A Case of Hometown Blues. She is looking as fabulous as her books. :-)

This is Tanya Eby and her husband.  He charmingly hung out with her all day. (My husband wanted to bring the kids along. Um, no thanks.) Her books are Easy Does It, Blunder Woman, and Pepper Wellington and the Case of the Missing Sausage. All of which are laugh out loud hilarious. 

Downtown Art Hop

Our small town has been working really hard to promote local artists and it has been great fun to participate in the events.  Recently they hosted an Art Hop where the businesses of the downtown featured local painters, potters, jewelry makers, quilters and, of course, writers. It was so amazing to see so much talent crammed into four small blocks.

I spent the Art Hop hanging out with W.S. Gager and J.Q. Rose.

W.S. Gager, Me and J.Q. Rose

W.S. Gager's newest book, A Case of Hometown Blues, was released last week.  I have my copy next in my To Read pile.  Can't wait. 

J.Q. Rose's first book, Sunshine Boulevard, is available on ebook from MuseItUp Publishing. It is light horror and just a hoot. 

The business hosting us had a lovely spread of cheeses and cookies and even wine!  Yummy.

Thanks, J.Q. for the photos!

Summer Reading

Last week, I signed the kids up for the summer reading program at our local library.  They are all in the Read to Me category, so my husband and I will actually be doing the reading.  Three kids and thirty books each.  We should read over ninety books bey the end of July.  Shouldn't be a problem as we usually read a few at bedtime (although if bedtime continues to be as early as it has been the last couple nights, we might have a problem.)

But then there's an adult program too.  When I worked at the library, I was in charge of the program and thought it was so easy to read ten books over the ten weeks of the program.  I had time to read two to three books a week. Now, not so much.  It can take me a month to read a book that used to take me a few hours.

Last summer I didn't sign up for the program, thinking I'd never be able to read that many book.  This summer I'm going to try it. I have my iPod loaded with books from my fellow Astraea Press authors and W.S. Gager has a new book coming out in July.  I'm also going to try Altas Shrugged while we're on vacation. (I've heard a lot about it and it's long enough to count as two books. :-)) So I should have a good selection to choose from.

Does your library have a reading program for adults too?  What's on your reading list?

Fridays off the Wall with W. S. Gager

Today, I'm hosting my good friend and critique partner, W. S. Gager for Fridays off the Wall. We have been writing together for about five years and it has been quite a ride. (Not like her white-water rafting story though.  That's just scary.)  The next installment in the Mitch Malone Mysteries comes out in July from Oak Tree Press.

Joselyn: Who would you cast as the main characters in a movie of your latest book?

This is such an easy one because I had his picture taped to the wall while I wrote. It’s Jake Gyllenhaal. I wanted someone with a friendly face and hair that could be ruffled but still looked good. A lot of average characteristics with built in appeal to get people to spill their guts to him when he interviews them for the newspaper.

Joselyn: What’s one hobby readers would be surprised to know you have? Or what is the most adventurous thing you’ve done?

The most adventurous thing I’ve done is gone white water rafting for the first time on a raging river at flood stage. It was an advanced river and the group I was with gave me the basics and just said keep quiet. Our raft flipped and two of the people in it didn’t surface. I was thrown clear but was dragged a mile down the river before I could wedge myself between rocks until rescued. The other two in the raft ended up underneath it in an air pocket but no one knew. It was really scary but one of the best things I ever did. I married one of the guys in the raft!

Joselyn: My spine is tingling just reading that.   If Mitch Malone could invite anyone to dinner (fictional or otherwise), who would it be?

Crime Beat Reporter Mitch Malone would pepper Woodward and Bernstein from the Washington Post with questions about their investigative work. The pair was responsible for breaking the Watergate scandal with President Nixon. Mitch is always working hard in each book to get a Pulitzer Prize for journalism and would like to learn from two of the masters.


       Joselyn: I think that is exactly who I would have guessed. Mitch's mind never gets far from work. What one thing would make your writing space perfect?

A huge pile of calorie-free no-bake cookies and my critique buddies at my back with a whip to keep me motivated and going when the summer calls to me. On second thought, I’m not sure about my critic buddies…… I’m not sure I want to share the cookies!

Joselyn: Well, I'm eating one right now, so I suppose you could have your own. When the power goes out, what do you do? (Cell phone service is out too.)

I read by candlelight. It is the best thing (although not sure if it is good for my eyes!) This is guilt-free reading. There is nothing I have to do like laundry, or checking email or facebook. I can read whatever I want and there is nothing else I can do. It’s perfect!

That's sounds wonderful. It makes me really tempted to set the time on the phone.  Every time I do, the power goes out within forty-eight hours. (Once it was out for almost twenty-four hours because I set the time on the coffeemaker. I don't set the clocks anymore.)

More about the latest Mitch Malone Mystery: A Case of Hometown Blues:

Mitch vowed he would never return to his hometown after the death of his parents. But when a favor for his editor requires him to teach a seminar for the Flatville newspaper, he must confront the memories he’s tried so hard to bury.  A foolish bet with the cub reporters has him chasing down the murderer of the former Homecoming Queen and trying to keep his butt out of jail as the prime suspect. As the facts he thought he knew about his family unravel, can Mitch discover the truth that will allow his parents and friend to rest in peace or will he be resting with them?

For more about W. S. Gager and Mitch Malone's adventures, visit www.wsgager.com, www.wsgager.blogspot.com, or her Author Central page on Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/W.-S.-Gager/e/B003U5OADU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Thanks for hanging out with us, W. S. !

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Interviewed by Mitch Malone

I was interviewed by Mitch Malone, ace crime reporter, at W.S. Gager's Blog (http://wsgager.blogspot.com) for Mitch Malone Mondays.  He's not sold on romance, but is interested in the arsonist in Courting Sparks. Find out what he thinks about wearing ugly bridesmaid dresses.

Russian Tea Cakes

Okay, so I’ve never actually made Russian Tea Cakes.  They are one of my husband’s favorites. He used to make them with his grandpa when he was a little boy.  Isn’t that a cute image?  

I’m being interviewed at the Lovestruck Novice (http://thelovestrucknovice.blogspot.com/) and you read about how I met Mitch Malone at W.S. Gager on Writing (http://wsgager.blogspot.com).

Ingredients:

1 cup stick margarine or butter, softened

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup finely chopped nuts

¼ teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix margarine, ½ cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire rack.

Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.

Makes about 4 dozen

From Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook

Split-second Cookies

I feel privileged to be one of the first people to meet Mitch Malone, Grand River Journal crime reporter. Find out more about him and meet my critique partner, W. S. Gager, at W.S. Gager on Writing (http://wsgager.blogspot.com/).

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup jam

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Divide dough into four equal portions; shape each into a 12-in. x 3/4-in. log. Place 4 in. apart on two greased baking sheets. Make a 1/2-in. depression down center of logs; fill with jam.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes; cut diagonally into 3/4-in. slices. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Split-Second-Cookies-2/Detail.aspx

W.S. Gager has a new book!

My good friend W. S. Gager has a new book out in the Mitch Malone Mystery series.  A Case of Accidental Intersection seems to have jumped right out of the headlines. This story has some similar characteristics to the plot.

From the back cover: Mitch Malone hates hospitals, but when a suspicious traffic accident lands a comatose victim in the hospital, he must put that aside to find the truth. The surface looks smooth but the more the crime beat reporter looks the more bodies pop up, including a private detective and his own editor. Can he get to the truth before the surviving victim is murdered in her hospital bed and an elderly witness has a heart attack? Will he get his exclusive printed before he's the next victim?

Hope you get a chance to read it!