First Monday Classics Book Club Update May 27, 2015

For local friends: come join us for First Monday Classics!

Friends of the Orange County Public Library

By Samantha Bryant

The First Monday Classics Book Club meets on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. to discuss a classic novel. Meetings are held at the main library in Hillsborough. The discussions are facilitated by Piedmont Laureate and local author James Maxey and local author Nathan Kotecki.

For May, the group read and discussed Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, and had a lively discussion about the character of Bathsheba.

Upcoming book selections include:

• June 2: Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
• July 6: Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• August 3: The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• (hiatus in September)
• October 5: The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dosteovsky

Books are selected by group consensus, so if there’s a classic you’re yearning to read or reread and discuss, please join us!

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Guest Post with K. Lynn

K. Lynn is a personal friend and her new book is wonderful.

Scribbling In The Storage Room

I’d like to introduce you all to K. Lynn. She and I have been writer buddies for several years now and I am excited to share a tiny spark of her brilliance with you today. She is an awesome critique partner, a wealth of knowledge, and a good friend. Over the last few years, she has patiently nudged me out of my lazy syntactical habits and introduced me to the LGBT genre through her books.

K. Lynn has been on a publishing tear lately. His Womanly Ways comes out today and she has a novella coming out in July. (Stay tuned to hear more about that work closer to release day.) K. Lynn joins us today in the storage room to talk about the process she went through when designing the cover for her new novel.

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A cover is worth a thousand words. At least, to me it is. Going into the…

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The Neanderthal, by R. Leanda May 14, 2015

One of my favorite stories by R Leanda on Baked Scribe today!

Unintentionally offensive May 12, 2015

A good reminder that you can’t fully know another person’s story from what you see on the surface. Thanks to Dave Higgins for bringing this one to my attention.

Author Crissy Moss

Yesterday at work a customer made an off hand remark about getting something free. Lots of people do this, nifty percent of the time they are teasing. We laugh, I say sorry can’t do that, and we go on our ways.

But yesterday was a bit different. We laughed, then he said “I’m just kidding. I work for what I have. I’m a conservitive, not a liberal. I don’t expect anyone to just give me anything.”

I was a little offended. First time in a really long time that I’ve ever been offended. I don’t necessarily consider myself a liberal, but I have been on public assistance before. Even now I have free medical from the state because I can’t afford health care. And this is what this person thinks of me? That I just want free hand outs instead of working for myself?

I laughed it off and let…

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This Writing Life: Notes to Self May 7, 2015

Another great post from Sharon Bayliss’s Writer Mama blog tour. Especially if you’re a parent and a writer, you should really check out some of these posts!

Moghalai-Style Chicken May 6, 2015

We love a good Indian meal, but mostly they take too long to cook on a a weeknight. If I cook chicken in the oven at the same time as doing the stovetop stuff, we’ve got this one down to 40 min prep.

In the kitchen with Kath

I am delighted to add Moghalai-Style Chicken to my repertoire! This fantastic curry, which I found in 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer, is so simple. In fact, I was amazed that it delivered so much flavor for so little effort. It is a mixture of sweet and spicy, and the almonds add just the right amount of crunch.

Serving the curry over rice, I found that it makes 5 – 6 servings. You could cut the recipe in half, but I recommend making the whole thing because it reheats beautifully.

Moghalai-Style Chicken is a quick, easy, and very tasty recipe for this busy holiday season. If you enjoy Indian flavors, I think you will love it!

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Moghalai-Style Chicken

(Adapted from a recipe in 660 Curries, by Raghavan Iyer)

(print the recipe)

I used chicken breasts, but I think boneless skinless chicken thighs would also…

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Live! In the Link Age 05.06.15

Thanks for the shout-out!

Anatomy of a Best-Selling Story—Structure Part One

Us creative types don’t always like to hear it, but structure is part of the art!

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Structure Matters

Writers must understand structure if they hope to be successful. Yes, it might take five years to finish the first novel, but if we land a three book deal, we don’t have 15 years to turn in our books. Also, in the new paradigm of publishing, writers who produce more content have greater odds of making money at this writing thing.

Understanding structure helps us become faster, cleaner, better writers. Structure is essential to all stories, from screenplays to novels to epic space operas.

Plotters tend to do better with structure, but even pantsers (those writers who write by the seat of their pants) NEED to understand structure or revisions will be HELL. Structure is one of those boring topics like finance or taxes. It isn’t nearly as glamorous as creating characters or reading about ways to unleash our creative energy.

I’ve run my 20 page Death Star Critique…

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Supporting Your Writer Friends

My friend Elizabeth Hein’s book is a featured deal on Amazon May 8-15. Here’s your chance to get her wonderful book at a great price.

Scribbling In The Storage Room

Elizabeth and Samantha Bryant at the launch for Going Through The Change

This spring has brought new joy to my writing life. Several of the wonderful writers that cheered me on through the launch of How To Climb The Eiffel Tower released books in the last month or so. I can’t fully express how excited I am for them.

It has been exciting to do readings and book events for my own books, but those events can also be terrifying. Going to a friend’s reading is just pure joy. Posting and tweeting about their books doesn’t make me feel like I am unduly tooting my own horn. It feels like spreading the word about a great new book that people should read.

One of the new releases I’m excited about is by someone many of you know from this monthly blog hop – Samantha Bryant. Her book Going Through…

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Going Through The Change by Samantha Bryant May 2, 2015

A really thoughtful review of Going Through the Change on a great new book blogging site.

One Book Two

Title:  Going Through The Change
Author: Samantha Bryant
Series: Menopausal  Superhero Book 1
Publish Date: April 23, 2015
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Genre: Science Fiction/Chick Lit
Perspective: Third-Person

Publisher’s Description: Going through “the change” isn’t easy on any woman. Mood swings, hot flashes, hormonal imbalances, and itchy skin are par for the course. But for these four seemingly unrelated women, menopause brought changes none of them had ever anticipated–super-heroic changes.

Helen discovers a spark within that reignites her fire. Jessica finds that her mood is lighter, and so is her body. Patricia always had a tough hide, but now even bullets bounce off her. Linda doesn’t have trouble opening the pickle jar anymore…now that she’s a man.

When events throw the women together, they find out that they have more in common than they knew–one person has touched all their lives. The…

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