On Sale at Smashwords Summer Sale!

HALF PRICE for Outside Blessings during the Smashwords Summer Sale. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1775506 Use the coupon or the code and you'll pay only 1.49! From a review on Amazon, "...a captivating story set against the backdrop of a raging sea and the age old battle of good against evil."

 

Adding To My Collection

A few weeks ago, I went to the annual AAWU book sale in Freehold. This event is held every year and the amount of books on sale is phenomenal. This year, I found some true treasures--at least in my point of view. I bought four Phyllis A. Whitney novels. I was so delighted! I already have six other books by Miss Whitney. In the past, I sometimes I gave them away, which I now regret. Each of her books are worth reading more than once. She was such a master at suspense, but also great with characterization and description. 

I often read ebooks, and I like them for their convenience. After all, I can pull out my phone and read a book anywhere. But I still find it a pleasure to sit down with a paper book on a rainy day and use a good old-fashioned book mark to tuck in the pages. 

When I first became serious about writing, I turned to a book by Phyllis Whitney on writing. That book was a great help to me. I wrote about it here. 

Do you have a favorite author? I have more than one. 😊 

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How Grandma Survived The Great Depression

My Wonderful Grandma 

     My grandmother raised seven children on a ten acre spread of sloping hilltop in western Pennsylvania during the Great Depression. My grandfather, a coalminer, built the house they lived in.     
     My grandmother had a garden and canned everything. There were chickens and a cow, but now and then my mother had to pick the buckshot out of animals killed for food. 
     Recently, I've seen many recipes on the Internet listing foods eaten during the Great Depression. All of these recipes are easy to make, inexpensive, and filling. I was surprised to realize that several of the meals my mother prepared on a regular basis were used during that era. So, I have to assume my mother learned them from her mother out of necessity.
     I considered those dishes "comfort food." My mother would make up a batch of tunafish, and peas in white sauce and I thought it was delicious. At a young age, it was usually my job to make the white sauce. I had to stir it carefully so it didn't burn until it was thickened. I always got the same task for pudding. (I included the mention of that job in Love’s Gift.) In fact, white sauce was useful in extending many meals. My mom used it with green beans and bacon, too, which is considered an Appalachian favorite. Since my grandparents lived close to the West Virginia line, that isn’t a surprise. 
    Another filling, inexpensive meal was Lima beans and breakfast sausage. It may also be a classic Appalachian meal from what I’ve read. I really enjoyed it. My grandma never used written recipes. She memorized them in her head. My mother actually owned a cookbook, The Good Housekeeping Cook Book. At the time of my mother's death, that book had no covers and the index was gone as well. Nevertheless, anyone could see which recipes were my mother's favorites by the stains or dough on the pages. None of the meals in that book were the ones she made by memory, just as her mother did--the ones that fed a family of nine and didn't cost much. 

    I love to try new recipes, but those old ones from the past still have a special place in my heart. Does your family cook any recipes that came from the Great Depression?

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Em Dash Abuse

I am an em dash abuser. I tend to use the quick symbol all over the place. I type in em dashes wherever a comma would suffice. Sigh.

In The Elements of Style, Strunk and White said, "A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses."

I think my em dash habit is due--in part--to the way I speak. I speak in em dashes!

I have a few examples from The Keeper's Promise below. You see how I originally typed each phrase and how I fixed them.

This was why Bryce loved Shucker's Point--why he had stayed here when many others had left.

It now reads:

This was why Bryce loved Shucker's Point, and why he had stayed here when many others had left.

Sometimes I didn't really need the em dash at all.

that she wasn't a vicious killer--or a psychopath.

Just one simple conjunction works fine:

that she wasn't a vicious killer or a psychopath.

Everyone needs an editor. I have been very grateful for mine.

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Needing a Rom-Com?

 

Reading a romantic comedy at the beach is the best way to spend your time in the sun. At least, that's what I would do. So I wrote one.

One reviewer said, "...lovable characters with a constant flow of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and misadventures. Result: a cute, fun read." You can get it free with Kindle Unlimited but it also comes in a paperback, which is better for beach reading. 

    Find it here:  https://www.amazon.com/Daddy-Wanted-Penelope-Marzec/dp/1522398058

Be safe in the sand.

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My Memorial Day Wish

It never ceases to amaze me that the human race has survived this far. For one thing, earth is not a stable environment. Tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, mudslides, sinkholes, and fires threaten us on a regular basis. Our precarious situation is made even worse by war. Billions of dollars are being used to kill other human beings as countries regularly drop bombs on each other. 

Meanwhile there's the threat of disease. Hantavirus and Ebola are frightening illnesses. Not enough money is spent on finding ways to prevent the spread of these horrible plagues. Not enough money is spent on research to discover vaccines to eradicate these afflictions.

Yet, with clear threats to the entire globe, many people continue to argue and blame each other for the problems. 

Why can't we get along? Why can't we have peace?

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The Promise of Beach Plums

 Hubby and I went to Sandy Hook just in time to see the beach plums blossoming. In order to have beach plums, we need pollinators. So, I was delighted to see this bumble bee helping out the process. Beach plums are not very big--about the size of a grape, though not as sweet. But the fruit makes a very tasty jam. Of course, other animals like beach plums. For instance, the herds of deer on Sandy Hook enjoy the fruit, too. 

Hopefully, there will be a few beach plums for me to nibble on come fall. But simply seeing the white blossoms all over the Hook was a cheerful site. Kudos to the bees, too.