I thought I found a new book to read today. It sounded great, was written by an author with a solid track record (even though I hadn’t heard of him before—there are so many hours in the day, forgive me), and the book got good reviews overall.
Do you do this? I was reading Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson, when the main character mentioned characters created by Ethel M. Dell. Curious, I looked her up and yes, she existed. She was a romance writer from 1911 to 1939. So I tracked down one of her books and read it. And now when I reread that line spoken by Miss Pettigrew, I feel an extra satisfaction: I know exactly what she’s referring to.
It was almost a throwaway line. Miss Pettigrew didn’t explain who the author was, she assumed the other characters knew—and the reader as well. Yet it made no difference if I knew or not, the context given was explanation enough. I was just curious.
It’s not the first time I’ve done this. In Mary Poppins in the Park, author P. L. Travers created a story from The Silver Fairy Book. I read every “color” fairy book compiled by Andrew Lang before conceding defeat—the author had made up the book. The most frustrating part of it was the story she wove—it sounded like it should have been real, and I wanted to read it.
So, do you do this? Do you hunt down a book mentioned in a novel? I have no explanation as to the pleasure I get in the hunt and subsequent reading, but it would be nice to know I’m not alone.
On Friday afternoon, a writer friend invited me for lunch. Along with homemade gazpacho soup and slices of tomato with fresh basil leaves and mozzarella, there was insalata di fagiolini, patate e pomodori (green bean, potato and tomato medley) from Roberta Roberti’s cookbook Vegetarian Italian Traditions (Volume 1).
With Italian bread on the side, it was a simple and sublime meal. The perfect meal for a hot and humid day, bolstered up with friends. With the author’s permission, I’m including the recipe here:
Insalata di Fagiolini, Patate e Pomodori (Green Bean, Potato and Tomato Medley)
Makes 6-8 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds new or red potatoes, unpeeled
1 pound fresh green beans
4 medium tomatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup balsamic vinegar (optional)
Cut potatoes into bite-size chunks; place into a pot and fill with enough water to cover. Cover and cook over medium heat until just tender but firm when pierced with a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool off under cold running water. Drain well and place in a large serving bowl. (If you’re using vinegar, do not use an aluminum bowl.)
Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Snip off ends of green beans. If beans are very long, snap in half. Add beans to boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and cool off under cold water; drain well.
Add green beans to potatoes. Add tomatoes, onion, and oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix well. Add vinegar, a little at a time, until it’s to your liking.
Gently toss, cover bowl, and chill for about 2 hours. Allow to come to room temperature and toss again before serving. Taste for seasoning. Add a little more oil if it’s too dry.
Keep leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
TIP: If the potatoes get a little mushy after cooking, lay them out on a baking sheet and place in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes to dry them out.
The thing about this recipe is how flexible it is. My friend used cherry tomatoes, cut in half. The seasonings (including a splash of balsamic vinegar) were added right before serving, so while it might not have had the intensity it would have after being in the fridge for two hours, it had a nice little zing. I look forward to making this next summer.
And while I love Italian food, I’m also looking forward to something different with Roberta Roberti’s new cookbook, World Party: Vegetarian Appetizers, Hors D’oeuvres and Party Plates. It’s coming out soon and I expect to be doing a lot of cooking.
Buon Appetito!
When I was a little kid, I’d fantasize about being the hero with superpowers. Who didn’t want to be a Superman? But as I got older, it became harder to put myself in the same situations that my fantasy superheroes on TV and in books and movies went through because when I did—well, I croaked. Or was captured. I couldn’t fly or read minds or have the strength of ten people or—well, you get the idea.
So I looked for other types of stories to immerse myself in the genre of fantasy. I discovered that I love the ones where the hero is vulnerable.
Sadly, this is the final part of my time spent at Phoenix Comicon.
I loved watching people in costume. One woman floated down a long staircase wearing a blue gown from Frozen but I wasn’t quick enough with my camera.
As before, I enjoyed chatting with the authors. They were very patient as I tried to get a good photo of each of them. 😉
Matthew O. Duncan, author of The New Terra Sagas.
Erin Quinn, author of The Mists of Ireland Series and The Beyond Series. I adored her tee shirt and need that message on a mug.
Mark Rude, artist and author of The Cindra Corrina Chronicles.
And finally, another taste of the goodies for sale. I had to keep reminding myself about the size of my suitcase (not to mention closet space).
I was glad to have attended. May you all get to go!
Okay, yes, I was tempted. But really, there’s no room to swing a light saber in my house and somehow I didn’t think the airline would have been too happy. So I took this photo, drooled, and moved on.
Continuing from last week’s post, it’s a pleasure to feature the authors I met at the Con. They were welcoming and generous with their time and I enjoyed talking with them. I thought this was going to be a two-part entry but decided that there will be another post about the Con and the authors I met so stay tuned. 🙂
Mimi Sebastian, author of the Necromancer Books. (I certainly have a lot of books to check out from the Con!)
Joseph Nassise, who gave me the publisher’s copy of Urban Allies, and autographed it, as well as:
Weston Ochse, who autographed it as well! I love anthologies because it helps me find new authors to read.
KC Klein, whose card reads, “Writing Love Letters to the World One Book at a Time.”
And what would Comicon be without costumes? Here’s a cool one, also from the Star Wars universe:
(I didn’t catch his name but I did get his permission.)
See you next week!
While I wasn’t there for long, I did have a blast. This year, Phoenix Comicon supported Kids Need to Read. Their booth was staffed by enthusiastic volunteers:
And of course I stopped by the rows of authors–both indie and traditionally published, to chat and take photos. Here are a few of the authors I spoke with (more next week):
Arabella Thorne, author of I Swear My Roommate is a Vampire and The Elf Lord’s Revenge, as well as others.
Howard Tayler, writer and illustrator and Michael Stackpole, author of many, many books.
Alan Black, author of the Metal Boxes series.
I couldn’t help taking a picture of this sewing machine (courtesy of Xaos Studios) creating a patch with no human hands. As a friend quipped, “The original 3-D printer.”
Stay tuned for more from the Con next week.
First, let me say thanks to J.M. for letting me hang out at her blog this week. Aside from our association as fellow Penheads, members of the same writing group, I’m a big fan of her work and it pleases me that she’s allowed me on her blog for a bit.
I wanted to talk about a couple of projects that I have coming out in May. One is Order Up: A Menu of Lesbian Romance & Erotica, the follow-up to All You Can Eat: A Buffet of Lesbian Romance & Erotica, which is a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Also out this month is Have a Bite, book one in my new novella series The Vampires of Brooklyn Chronicles. It’s about a celebrity chef who’s being tormented by a restaurant reviewer with a grudge. Incidentally, she’s also being stalked by a vampire hunter because…oh, yeah, she’s a vampire.
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A fellow writer asked me to copyedit her latest cookbook. Although my editing background is in a different field, she knew I loved to cook and loved reading cookbooks. She handed me a checklist and away I went, happy to immerse myself in the world of food.
Until I realized that no matter which recipe I read, even those including ingredients I wouldn’t eat, I was constantly reaching for things that were sweet or salty or spicy. And extra portions of…well, anything. The numbers on the scale crept up.
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I like book categories. They save me time. I know exactly where to go to find the books I want to read. (And I’m very unhappy with my library’s decision to remove the mystery and science fiction categories and place everything under “fiction.” Come on, people! How much time do you think we have to go through the stacks?)
I was horrified to walk into a number of used bookstores and discover that the urban fantasy authors I liked to read were not in the fantasy/sci fi section. Instead, for some inexplicable reason, they were all in the paranormal romance section. And some of the stories didn’t even have a romance in it! (A nasty little voice in my head whispers it’s because they’re written by women but I hope I’m wrong.)
I use categories to help me find other books, other authors, who might not fall on my radar screen. Mislabeling means we, as writers, become more invisible.
Mislabeling drives me bats. What can we do about it? Any ideas?
*Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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