Author News Day!

News

Michele Dunaway has been tapped to write The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Vampires. The book should hit shelves July 2010.

Trish Milburn’s first novel, A Firefighter in the Family (Septebmer, 2009) was a Maggie Award of Excellence finalist.

Laura Marie Altom’s "Snowbound with her Ex” will appear in Snowbound Together along with stories by Lindsay McKenna, Cara Summers and Anne Stuart. The book will be released in the UK by Mills & Boon on December 18, 2009.

Reviews

C.C. Coburn’s debut novel, Colorado Christmas (November 2009), received 4-1/2 star top pick from Romantic Times Magzine.

Mark Your Calendar

October 13: Four wonderful new reads from Harlequin American Romance will be in stores. This month’s covers are posted in the sidebar. To find out more about American Romance’s October releases, please visit eHarlequin.com.

Fall harvest

We have two pear trees in our yard, and every September-October they give us tons of pears. In the past I’ve made pear butter, spicy pear chutney, canned pears, pear pies (I freeze them) and pear pie filling. (Lots of work!!!) I’ve also given away bags full to friends and the local food bank.

Last year I got tired of all that canning and switched to freezer vanilla pear jam. Which takes a fraction of the time and effort and tastes delicious! This stuff is so tasty, I made two batches this year. Also pies. But that’s it! The rest we’re eating and sharing with friends. Oh, and I took a bag to Treehouse, the foster care agency where I so volunteer tutoring one afternoon a week. The kids loved them!

(If anyone wants the recipe for pear pie, which is to die for, email ann@annroth.net and I’ll send it to you.)

I’m curious–Do you grow fall crops in your yard? If so, what do you grow and what do you do with more produce than you can handle?


Until next time, and happy harvests,
Ann
www.annroth.net

Recipe of the month

Meg Lacey’s Easy Apple Pie

I worked on a TV show called "The Cleaning Sisters" for USA network featuring two off the wall WA. women who emphasized easy approaches. I.E. To make the home smell like you have been canning jam or jelly all way, dump a can of grape juice into a sauce pan, leave the lid off and simmer all day. Let the aroma drift through the house. Then take the label off a jar of jam, put a fancy cover on it and serve with biscuits at dinner or for company.

You get the idea... So I did my own variation.

Steps:
Go to the grocery store freezer section, choose your favorite type of frozen pie. (I like Mountain Top)

Carefully place it in the bag to transport home. (Don't dump any other groceries on top of it or throw it into the back seat)

Read directions before cooking. (Very very important)

Preheat oven.

Slide Pie onto baking sheet and place carefully in the oven.

Light apple candles to add to the ambience.

Remove Pie from oven at appropriate time. (Don't forget to set the timer, or leave it beeping away for an hour as browning disaster awaits.)

This is the trick part. If you are really motivated you can attempt to remove the pie and place it in your own pie dish, but if your family has caught on to you, then stick the entire pie, pan and all into a dish.

Serve warm or cold.

Remind family that even though you didn't make it from scratch, thus saving everyone from disaster, that you appreciate them and love them very much. (What can they say after that?!)

Homecoming

Do you remember your high school’s homecoming week? To be honest, I really don’t. I remember girls would get giant mum corsages, complete with red and white ribbons and little plastic footballs and helmets hanging from them. There was a dance in our gym. I was on our high school’s drill team (in Houston, Texas, y’all), so we were always getting ready for the big half-time show. Every once in a while my parents would ask me how things were going. That’s about it.

To put it simply, my experiences pale in comparison to what’s been going on around here. My daughter’s a high school junior and preparations for Saturday’s dance have been 1) all-consuming, 2) expensive 3) full of drama and…(we really can’t stress this too much) 4) all-consuming. Every time my husband tries to get involved or offer an opinion, he messes things up, so I’ve had to pretty much ask him to be the Silent Participant. He’s allowed to smile, offer compliments, and pay for things.

The drama all started when she almost broke up with her boyfriend. Well, she did, for twenty-four hours. As soon as she did, she was asked to the dance by boyfriend’s best friend (!) with roses in the middle of Algebra. (no, that never, ever happened to me either…but wouldn’t it have been cool?) My daughter took the roses, said yes to the friend, and then dealt with the aftermath. Almost-Ex got jealous, begged her to take him back.

Now, she’s going to the dance with one boy, and leaving with boyfriend. Everyone seems just fine with this arrangement. Except, maybe, me…who’s going to the pre-homecoming dinner party to take pictures of my daughter with the boy who’s only Date Number 1.

After all this got figured out. (and boy, did y’all get the short version), the shopping began. New dress, new shoes. Search for the perfect purse. Yesterday was nail appointment day. Her hair appointment is this afternoon. Flowers have been ordered. I volunteered to make dessert for the 30 kids who are having dinner together at another’s house. She’ll do the dinner and the dance and the slumber party with all the girls.

And then, on Sunday, it will all be over. She works at an orchard, so she’ll go back to her regular job at the apple house selling Honey Crisp apples. My husband and I will look at each other and be so relieved...and then will most likely be sad.

Only one more homecoming after this…and then it will be all over. Done.

We know this because although these last two weeks have been crazy, another homecoming has been on all our minds. Late Wednesday night, our son will come home for five days for his fall break. He’s been in Alabama and we’ve missed him terribly.

Our son’s homecoming will involve a big hug and lots of cooking, I imagine. His goals for the week include sleeping, seeing the weiner dog, and eating pot roast. Maybe a round of golf. As long as he's here, it sounds like heaven.

So here’s to high school traditions and college homecomings.
And to having friends to tell about it all…

I know I’m not the only one who’s gone through all this. Anyone have a good homecoming story to share? About a kid? About you? I’d love to commiserate.

Shelley
www.shelleygalloway.com

SEPTEMBER WINNER!!!

CONGRATULATIONS NICOLERKO! You’re the September winner. To receive your free autographed books please contact Laura Marie Altom and Lisa Childs through their Web sites.

To enter the contest simply leave a blog comment and your name will go into the drawing. Easy and painless. And FREE BOOKS.

So check back often and be sure to leave a comment. Good luck!

Tuning In

It’s my blogging day, and here are a couple of less-than-thrilling possible topics that flitted through my brain:

· How I’ve avoided running for any sort of office since a humiliating defeat in high school for president of the drama club. I lost even though I’d founded the drama club, it was our very first meeting, and the guy who got elected never called another meeting.

· How I nevertheless decided to serve on the board of my local RWA chapter, and only I’m going to miss the first meeting, so I hope they'll all bear with me.

· How I’ve battled pests in my garden all summer and am on the verge of throwing in the trowel (pun intended) because of white grubs. Any tips?

However, instead, I’m going to talk about something brilliant and intellectual. That is, the new TV season.

If you’re like most of my friends, you a) don’t own a TV set, b) are too busy serving on the school board, homeowners’ board or PTA board to watch TV, or c) are too busy out battling grubs.

That leaves just a few of us. So gather round…

Each fall, my husband and I sample numerous new series, but quickly drop most. However, we’re thrilled when we find one we like. So far, the biggest winner among the new series, for us, is “Flash Forward.” I also like “The Good Wife.” Anyone else enjoy those?

Not crazy about “Mercy,” “Vampire Diaries” (sorry, vampire lovers) or “Eastwick.” Re the latter, I’m a huge Paul Gross fan but I’m not keen on watching him channel Jack Nicholson, plus I also find the premise unpleasant. Basically, as far as I can tell, it’s “Let’s go sell our souls to the devil and have a rousing good time!”

Aside from wonky premises, what turns me off in a series? Biggest bugaboo: generic writing. An obvious opening scene that could have come from any of dozens of movies immediately raises my hackles. So do stereotypical characters and predictable plotlines.

I know there are people who think all romance novels are predictable because there’s always a happy ending. Well, the same is true of murder mysteries, right? It’s a given that the hero/heroine will solve the crime and prevail over the bad guy. The trick is making it all seem fresh.

So here’s to good writing, wherever you find it. And I hope, for you, that includes us hardworking scribblers at Harlequin American.