BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR LAURA KAYE

A multi-published author of paranormal, contemporary and erotic romance, Laura Kaye’s hot, heartfelt stories are all about the universal desire for a place to belong. Laura is the author of the bestselling contemporary romance and award-nominated Hearts of Darkness and the bestselling and award-winning paranormal romance Forever Freed. North of Need, a contemporary fantasy romance, is the first in the 4-book Hearts of the Anemoi series. Read more about Laura and her books at her website.

Laura is offering a free e-book of North of Need to one of our readers who posts a comment this week. Don’t forget to include your email address in your comment or check back on Sunday to learn if you’ve won. -- AP

  

Craftiness Runs in the Family

Thanks to Anastasia for hosting me here at Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers! I’m celebrating the recent release of my contemporary fantasy romance, North of Need, a book filled with sweet holiday magic, hot paranormal romance, and unique world building based on Greek mythology! Given all the fun crafts y’all talk about here, I thought I’d share a craft that I’ve been involved with… 

The women in my family have always been into crafts. My mom crocheted afghans and painted pottery from the time I was old enough to remember. Growing up, we had a family tradition on Thanksgiving: the men went to go watch football, and the women gathered around the kitchen table to make an annual craft: ornaments, flower arrangements, gingerbread houses, and jewelry among them.

When I got to my senior year of college and was way ahead on my required credits, I had a semester of coursework to take just for fun. So, I chose an English class on banned books, a historical archaeology class, an extra history class (I was a history major)…and an art class making stained glass windows.

Despite the cuts on my fingers and burning myself with the solder gun, I loved stained glass window making. My first window was huge. I called it Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. And I flew through learning the craft of making a stained-glass window and finishing that window in about eight weeks. I was so far ahead, I finished a second 18”-diameter circular window in the last four weeks of the semester.

And then I took all my tools home and taught my mom how to do it. She loved it so much, she went out and bought tools of her own. Together, we made tons of pieces, and that following Christmas, everyone received pieces of stained glass as a gift! (Some of the below Christmas village pieces are hers, and some mine) About that same time, my aunt got into painting old furniture. Shortly thereafter, the two of them actually started selling their furniture and stained glass at craft shows, and quite a few weekends were spent hawking the family wares in community centers, parks, and at festivals.

I haven’t made a window in quite a long time, but I think of those week nights and weekend days around my mom’s kitchen table making stained glass with fondness. When she died a few years back, I inherited all the pieces she’d made as well as her tools and a box full of glass—it’s all just waiting for me to return to it. Maybe I’ll wait till my seven year old’s a bit older—I can tell already, she’s got the family craft gene in her. And maybe it’ll bring the two of us together the way it did me and my mom…

So, tell me: Has crafting brought you closer with a friend or family member?

Thank you so much for hosting me! As a thank you for your readers, I’m offering this free holiday cookbook released by one of my publishers and featuring two recipes from me! Now, it doesn’t include North of Need heroine Megan’s snow cone recipe in it, but that one’s easy: big cup, spoon, then alternating layers of snow, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and strawberry Gatorade. Try it! Eees goooood!

Thanks for reading!

Laura Kaye

Thanks for joining us today, Laura. Readers, post a comment if you'd like the chance to win a copy of North of Need, and don't forget to click on the link above for your free holiday cookbook. -- AP

MEANINGFUL HOLIDAY GIFTS

According to one statistic I heard on the news, the average person will spend approximately $700 this season on holiday gifts. Whoa! I guess we here at American Woman are not your average people because my random, unscientific polling of my fellow editors didn’t produce a figure anywhere near $700. If your bank account is still feeling the pinch of the recession, here are some holiday gift-giving ideas that won't start you off in debt for 2012 from our staff. -- AP

From yours truly, craft editor Anastasia Pollack: Get crafty! Check out all the craft projects posted each Monday at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. We specialize in crafts that take no special talents or expensive, hard-to-find tools and supplies. In addition, that handmade gift will probably take a lot less time than the time you’ll spend driving to the mall, trolling for a parking space, going from store to store, coping with the checkout lines, and bucking traffic.

From food editor Cloris McWerther: Edible items are always appreciated. Consider making something yummy and give it along with a binder filled with your favorite recipes.

From beauty editor Nicole Emmerling: Small nylon sachet bags are inexpensive and available in many colors at craft stores. Fill several with lavender potpourri and tie with ribbon for a thoughtful and sweet-smelling gift.

From health editor Janice Kerr: Fill small jelly jars with loose teas such as chamomile and mint. Add a tea strainer, and you have the perfect gift for a tea drinker.

From money guru Sheila Conway: Give of yourself. Provide a gift of time or experience. Promise to drive an elderly friend or relative on her errands or offer to do them yourself. Rake the leaves, clean the gutters, or clean her home. Offer to do her taxes if you have the expertise. These are gifts that will be cherished long after that box of chocolates is eaten.

From fashion editor Erica Milano: If you have a large family, consider one family gift rather than individual gifts for every member.

From travel editor Serena Brower: Invite a group of friends or family members on an outing. Whether it’s a trip to the zoo, a local sporting event, or a picnic at the lake, you’re certain to find something that fits your budget.

From decorating editor Jeanie Sims: Not every gift has to be brand new. Troll flea markets and garage sales, and you might find that perfect memory from a loved one’s past, whether it’s a vintage record album or a classic Barbie lunchbox.

And you won’t spend anywhere near $700 giving any of these gifts. So enjoy the holidays without going broke. What are some of the ways you keep holiday costs down? Or don't you? Post a comment to enter the drawing for a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

DECORATING WITH JEANIE -- GINGERBREAD HOUSES

T’is the season for gingerbread house displays and competitions throughout the country. Decorating editor Jeanie Sims recently came across these gingerbread houses in Peddler’s Village, PA. I’m partial to the Winnie the Pooh one. What about you? -- AP

Have you ever made a gingerbread house? Let's hear from you. Post a comment to enter the drawing for a free book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

COOKING WITH CLORIS -- APPLE BUNDT CAKE

Cloris features on of my favorite versions of apple cake today. This is a great recipe for holiday entertaining. -- AP

APPLE BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients:

5 cooking apples

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2-1/4 cups sugar

1 cup butter

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup orange juice

4 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

confectioner’s sugar

Peel and slice apples. Place in bowl. Add cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix to coat apples. Set aside. Cream the butter and remaining 2 cups of sugar. Mix all other dry ingredients together. Slowly add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture. Combine eggs, juice, vanilla, and almond extract. Slowly add to other ingredients as you continue to mix. Batter will be thick.

Grease and flour bundt pan. Place small amount of batter in bottom of pan. Add a layer of apples. Continue layering batter and apples, with batter as last layer.

Back at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. Cool on wire rack 15-20 minutes. Remove cake from bundt pan. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

The only problem with this cake is that you can’t stop eating it. What do you think, readers? Anyone going to try it? Post a comment to enter the drawing for a free book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA-- PAINTED GLASS BALL ORNAMENTS

Painted glass balls add elegance to Christmas trees, but what if you have no talent? Fear not! Here’s a project that takes no talent but will look like you spent a fortune on designer ornaments.

Materials: clear glass ball ornaments (available at craft stores), DecoArt Americana Crystal Gloss Enamel paints in your choice of colors, ribbon for hanging loop.

1. Carefully remove the metal caps from the glass balls.

2. Squeeze small amount of paint into the ball. Rotate the ball to swirl the paint around the interior. Repeat with a second color of paint. Add a third color if desired.

3. Allow paint to dry. Follow manufacturer’s directions for heat-setting paint.

4. Reattach cap to ball. Add ribbon for hanging loop.


What kinds of Christmas ornaments have you crafted? Let's hear from you. Post a comment to enter the drawing for a free book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

THIS WEEK'S BOOK GIVEAWAY WINNER

Thanks to everyone who stopped by this week and a special thank you to author Karen McCullough for being our Book Club Friday guest and offering a copy of A Gift For Murder to one of our readers. The winner this week is Leslie. Leslie, please email your mailing address to anastasiapollack@gmail.com. I'll forward it to Karen.

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY -- GUEST AUTHOR KAREN McCULLOUGH

Karen McCullough is the author of eleven published novels in the mystery, romantic suspense, and fantasy genres and has won numerous awards, including an Eppie Award for fantasy. Her short fiction has appeared in several anthologies. Her most recent releases are MAGIC, MURDER AND MICROCIRCUITS, a paranormal romantic suspense now available in most electronic formats, and A GIFT FOR MURDER, published in hardcover. Coming soon is the electronic re-release of her Christmas vampire story, A VAMPIRE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL. Learn more about Karen and her books at her website and her site for the Market Center Mysteries series.

Karen is offering a copy of A GIFT FOR MURDER to one of our readers who posts a comment to the blog this week. -- AP

Crafty Writers

Writing What You Know?

Any author who’s gone to a writer’s conference or workshop, or read a couple of books on the craft has heard the advice. “Write what you know.”

It’s a common-sense piece of writing advice.  You can create a deeper, richer, and more engrossing story when you draw on your own training, background, travels, employment, or other actual experiences to tell your story. It’s often the details, the kind you can only get from being there, that make a story ring true and pull the reader into the world you’re creating.

I followed that advice when I wrote the first book in my Market Center Mysteries, A GIFT FOR MURDER. This series is set at a large convention center/exhibition hall. Although I’ve never actually organized a trade show, I’ve attended a number of them, and covered others as a member of the trade press. I’ve talked to trade show organizers, listened to their stories, and heard about some of the challenges they faced. Of course none of them ever had to deal with a murder at a trade show, but it’s not a huge leap from the smaller problems to a really big one.

I made a few assumptions, of course, but most of them were grounded in my knowledge of how trade shows work, who comes to them, and the reasons they happen.  I just had to up the stakes a bit, and attribute fewer inhibitions to a certain individual to bring it off. Plus, you’ve got a rich background canvas. Those other, relatively more minor issues don’t go away just because our heroine had bigger problems. She still had to deal with all of it.

But my most recent release, MAGIC, MURDER AND MICROCIRCUITS is a different kind of story. It’s a mystery, too, but a paranormal romantic mystery, with protagonists who are powerful wizards.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never actually met a real, live, magic-slinging wizard. That hasn’t stopped me from writing about them. What do I know that let me do that?

Well, I have read a LOT of fantasy literature. I began reading science fiction and fantasy in my early teens. After I worked my way through what I could find at home, I raided school and public libraries. In the nineteen sixties and early seventies, there wasn’t a huge amount of fantasy being published, until THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy changed everything. I found and devoured it while in college, and it was actually a life-changing event in many ways. One of the best ways was that fantasy became popular and publishers started putting out more of it. I slurped up all I could. Some of it was decent, some if bad, and some of it blatant rip-offs, but I met lots of wizards and wallowed in a nice variety of magical systems.

As a result, even though I’ve never met a wizard in person, I feel as though I’d known a number of them pretty well. I have a rich well of material to draw from in formulating my own system of magic. 

I also have something else that came into play when writing this story:  a basic knowledge of physics. Don’t get me wrong. One college course doesn’t make me any kind of expert. But between that and subsequent reading, I’ve maintained a grasp of some of the main principles of mass, gravity, acceleration and momentum.

Somewhere in the depths of my undoubtedly geeky mind, fantasy and physics mated to produce a system of magic my heroine describes as a sort of “subatomic psychokinesis.” Of course it’s not really as simple as that. I want there to be some actual magic involved as well.

But at least I’ve grounded it to some extent in what I do know.  I’ve also heard someone respond to the “write what you know” advice by saying you should “write what you want to learn about.”  That works for me!

Thanks for joining us today, Karen! Readers, if you’d like a chance at winning a copy of A GIFT FOR MURDER, leave a comment. And don’t forget to either include your email address or check back on Sunday to see if you’ve won. -- AP