March 2025
Like bankruptcy and love, books happen slowly then all at once. I will have the details on ordering my first book next month - sent to you readers of this newsletter first - and will be proposing my second book right after. I have a draft of book two so the direction things go from there depend on how much the editors like it.
I'm in the very messy middle of book three. Ever get to the middle of a published book and find it getting a little slow and weird? I have as a reader, and I find myself there sometimes as a writer. If I finished out my draft of book three now, it would be 40,000 words, which is too short. I will figure it out. Worst case, I will ask my therapist. He had an idea for book two that I didn't end up using but got me writing again. (No, you can't have his number or everyone who writes fiction will want it.)
But, of course, writing through the mess is what gets you where you're going. Feel free to make a cheap analogy to life here.
More to the point, there's no avoiding it. If you think you can, you have an illusion of control that doesn't seem healthy or at least realistic to me.
I'm starting to wonder if philosophizing about my writing is really all that interesting. But then, I get Miranda July's newsletter and today she wrote about what she eats. (Spoiler: Tofu, eggs, beans, rice, kale and avocados. Californians are NOT like the rest of us.) Admittedly today I have eaten one apple but I've been at my desk for ten straight hours. My day job can be like that. I will eat dinner when my wife comes down the stairs and starts making baby bird noises. Those of you who don't know her personally probably think I'm kidding.
March Books:
Non-romance:
I adored Deanna Raybourn's best-selling Killers of A Certain Age a few years ago. If the sequel doesn't quite measure up, well, Kills Well With Others lacks novelty as all sequels do. Still, it was a great read and made me realize how much I had missed Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie, four assassins who were supposed to retire at the beginning of the first book and I sincerely hope never do.
A Date with the Fairy Drag Queen
Heartbreaking in the first few chapters, then bittersweet and beautiful throughout, Julie Turner's not-a-memoir-yet-wth-parts-drawn-from-life novel, conveys raw emotion through her beautiful prose as main character Saskia works through personal tragedy by taking care of a dying man in 1990. Turner has an eye for detail that captures how someone can be beautiful even as they die of a horrible disease. An unusual and interesting read.
Available for pre-order several places including:
Romance:
When a harpy meets a minotaur in a pro-wrestling ring, things happen. I found fantasy and pro-wrestling to compliment each other. If John Cena exists, why not a fantasy setting where people have his job? If people read romances about vampires, why can't a harpy have the same job as John Cena? A swoon-worthy fantasy romance where love hits harder than any finishing move, Pinned By Love might have you rethinking what you think you like even as the main characters are doing the same.
https://www.ylva-publishing.com/product/pinned-by-love-by-elaine-j-daniels/
Recipe of the Month:
Piper has a Great Great Aunt Blanche back in West Virginia. When New York feels like too much, sometimes Piper calls her, claiming to have forgotten it. No one who has ever seen Piper do the monologue from “Zoo Story” would believe that but Great Great Aunt Blanche pretends to not be familiar with Albee. Imparting important wisdom makes her feel good and listening makes Piper feel like she’s back home.
In one bowl combine:
3 cups flour, twice sifted [I only sift once]
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
In another bowl combine:
2 eggs -- whip up together
1 cup oil [I use 1/2 cup successfully]
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
3 cups sugar -- add slowly
Preheat oven to 350°F
Spoon dry ingredients in gradually and mix well, but don't overbeat
Fill 5 small loaf pans halfway -- if aluminum, no grease needed; if own pans, use butter or grease
Bake at 350° for 1 hour -- use toothpick to see if done
If you have a favorite recipe that is in the public domain, I’d love it if you typed it and sent it to me. If it’s already on the internet, tell me what you like about it and send me a link?
Wishing you apples and as much kale as you want,
Allison
