Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Just Twenty-Six Letters

It occurred to me the other day how magic writing truly is.

With just twenty-six letters, we can inform, stir minds, call to action, induce strong emotion, and make readers believe (if just for awhile) that make-believe is real.

Isn't that awesome?

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Melissa’s Garlic Bread

Losing track of time is easy when Melissa is researching Bryony, but the timing is bad when Melissa is supposed to make garlic bread to accompany Steve’s delicious spaghetti, sauce, so different from the canned version Darlene made.

Melissa’s Garlic Bread
By Kathleen R. Van Pelt

Softened or melted butter (or part butter and olive oil)
Fresh or jarred smashed garlic
Basil
Oregano
Pinch of salt
Finely shredded Italian cheese of choice
Halved Italian or French bread


Mix first six ingredients together; spread on bread. Wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until melted and warm. 

Friday, May 26, 2017

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, May 21 through May 26

If you haven't checked out our new website, please do so now. www.bryonyseries.com.

We're still in the creation/updating-ish phase, but it's there, has information, and looks great on mobile.

Holiday weekend plans: Well, I'm the holiday editor, so I am working Monday.

Since Henry's chapter eight took a turn two week's ago (and I had almost no time last weekend to play with it, as computer issues and weekend editor issues...well, you know...), I really, really, really hope to finish it this weekend, and make SOME progress on nine, as ten is done.

Shoot Bertrand's First Book of Numbers, which sadly also went by the wayside last weekend (as I glance down at the bags of props still at my feet).

Making some headway on Cornell and the Necklace of Forgetfulness is five (ditto reasons why I didn't touch it last week).

Fix the mistakes in Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone and reupload. (An earlier copy was accidentally uploaded).

Post the "Cornell" reviews from the students at Joliet Montessori.

Will I get it all done? Well, we shall see.


And now...

First, the non-bylined work: the health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars. Three of them can be found at this link:. http://www.theherald-news.com/lifestyle/ Plenty of health briefs this week, as my health cover fell through. Be sure to check them out.

Gotta Do It, runs each Sunday and often stays on the home page throughout the week.

Feature briefs for Tuesday (health), Thursday (faith), Friday (Arts and Entertainment), and Sunday (People) are also edited (texted and photos) by the lady of this blog, but only the stories have bylines.

Another option: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61. And of course, I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries.

Just an FYI: On free days, holidays, and Sundays I'm not on call, I only post the blog to my "real" Twitter account, as my company insists we do take time off. I'm less reasonable, so unless I'm on a real vacation, I still post to the BryonySeries accounts.

FYI: videos have not been attaching to my Herald-News stories, although they do run for a time on the home page. You may also find them under the "videos" tab.

If you'd like to watch a video, and it's not showing up for you, message me, and I'll manually attach it. No worries for this week, though, although I will have videos for Sunday.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News.


All in the family: Joliet mom and twin girls graduate from JJC at same time

Audrey Bopp and daughters Amanda and Ashley experience college together

Delivering newspapers was supposed to be a temporary job for Audrey, a way to add to the family income while the girls, who both have cerebral palsy, were young.

By the time Ashley and Amanda were juniors at Joliet Central High School and taking dual credit classes with college in mind, Audrey realized she needed a change.



An Extraordinary Life: Joliet dentist began pediatric denistry department at Loyola University
Dr. Dick Streitz treated patients with compassion


Bob Stephen of Joliet also called Dick “an icon” and “one of the most gentlemanly gentleman I ever met.”

“He was a man that I could trust. He was a man with tremendous character. He was sort of a one-way thinking man; it was either his way or the highway,” Bob said. “I liked that approach because of all the dealings I had with Dick, they were totally above-board and totally honest."



Pets of the Week: May 22

Click on the caption of each photo to find out about that pet, including where he or she can be adopted.



Maria’s Ristorante & Pizzeria in Morris features classic American and Italian cuisine

Several things we also noticed right away about Maria’s: daily specials, light dining Monday through Thursday and gluten-free pizzas and pastas.



Small Wilmington church to host retirement open house for longtime pastor
Church to host retirement open house for the Rev. Rodney Chappell

“I wanted to major in art in college, but God wouldn’t let me get into any art classes,” Chappell said. “I realized God called me to do something else.”



Joliet area churches offer Vacation Bible School events in 2017

A number of churches are offering Vacation Bible School events in Will and Grundy counties this summer. These include the following listed here.



Plenty of summer festivals scheduled in Will, Grundy counties for 2017

Ah, summer!

Sunshine, slower pace, and plenty of outdoor festival fun - like these upcoming events in Will and Grundy counties.



Plainfield photographer captures the subtler side of travel

These aren’t vacation photos or snapshots of famous places on tours.

Rather, these are Lane’s impressions of the world she’s extensively traveled.









Thursday, May 25, 2017

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: My Most Hated Meal from my Childhood Days

Thursday, May 23, 2013

My Most Hated Meal from my Childhood Days

When you were a child, did you have any strong dislikes when it came to food?

For me, it was Pork Sausage Casserole. Whenever my mother served it for dinner, I always went hungry that night. I could never understand who would create a recipe for something so disgusting.

So when we began accepting submissions for the official BryonySeries cookbook--Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony," my mother, with an evil chuckle, submitted this culinary nemesis from my past.

While typing out the handwritten recipe, I realized I had never known what ingredients actually went into the thing. Ironically, with the exception of the canned soups, I do like all of them separately.

Yet, (SHUDDER), you can be sure, I will NOT be preparing this. The rest of you might feel differently. Soooooo, just in case, here it is!

Pork Sausage Casserole
By Virginia Schonbachler

1 pound pork sausage

1 medium onion, diced

1 can condensed cream of mushroom or celery soup

1 cup low-fat milk

1 cup rice, cooked

1 cup cornflake or bread crumbs

2 tablespoons melted butter

Salt and pepper, to taste

 Brown pork sausage and onion together. Drain off fat. Add soup mixed with milk. Add cooked rice. Put into covered 1 ½ quart casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Mix crumbs and butter together. Spread on top of casserole. Bake another 5 minutes. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Bertrand (and I) Visit Joliet Montessori

Yesterday, I spent a delightful hour and a half with about fifty students at the Joliet Montessori School.

The school had asked for ten copies of Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone to read and review. Had it not been for the students' comments, I might never have known we'd inadvertently uploaded an earlier copy.

This is what happened: Rebekah had trouble adding page numbers to the edited copy, and she finally had to use an earlier version (the final one may have been corrupted, who knows?).

The problem with reversion is making sure we caught every error. Somewhere in the confusion of moving manuscripts back and forth between us, we glitched. So we will fix it this weekend and re-upload.

Overall, the kids seemed to enjoy it, some more than others (and some less than others), and the responses were honest and enthusiastic. I'll be posting their reviews (good and bad) on the website this weekend.

The kids also shared what they liked and didn't like to read, their own writing projects, their opinions on what makes for good reading, how to overcome writer's block, good ways to open stories, and first person vs. third person.

One girl who is graduating this year is a prolific writer and contributed greatly to the discussion, but nearly everyone had something to share during our time.

I passed out BryonySeries cards and left a few gifts: two copies of Bertrand and the Lucky Clover, two copes of Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from Bryony, two copies of Bryony, one copy of Visage, and one copy of Staked!.

The person who coordinated the event and the reviews asked for an additional copy of Visage and Staked! so I'll drop those off, too, as another teacher may be interested in using the trilogy in the classroom come fall. She also briefly discussed the possibility of a long-term partnership.

Towards the end, I answered their questions about my writing and self-publishing process, and I talked some about my work at The Herald-News, which is my primary writing focus.

Oh, and speaking of Bertrand, he was a hit in his own right.




Tuesday, May 23, 2017

The Moment When One of Your Kids Gets It

I submit a very nice piece, composed by my fourth adult child, Timothy Michael Baran. Used with permission.


"For it is not the good or the bad in a person that separates us from understanding each other's pain. 

"Nor is it the wandering eye of the poor or the full hand of the rich that separates us as a society, but rather the ignorance to not accept one's fellow man as an equal. 

"To not stand shoulder to shoulder with him in times of trouble and to not lean on him in times of despair and weariness. 

"It is for this reason greatness will never be achieved by the human race. 

"Forever we will reach for the stars and only grab ideas as we confine ourselves in the greatest prison of the ages. 

"Our ego."

T. M. Baran 

Monday, May 22, 2017

Please Check Out My New Website

My daughter Rebekah Baran worked long and hard, researching companies and rebuilding the site that kept the "feel" of the site Sarah Stegall created in 2010, but with a cleaner, mobile-friendly look.

It still needs some additions, tweaking and polishing, but I'm thrilled.

And please leave a comment for Rebekah. You'll make her day. :)

www.bryonyseries.com


Sunday, May 21, 2017

Old Hartford Election Cake

 At Bartholomew and Edwina Smythe’s dinner party, Henry advised Melissa that she needn’t eat everything listed on the menu. It was, he said, more of a planning guide for the appetite. With relief, Melissa offered Henry her portions of mashed turnips and boiled calves head. We find it hard to believe Melissa had any appetite once Kellen Wechsler began talking.

Adapted from Miss Beecher’s domestic receiptbook: designed as a supplement to her Treatise on domestic economy.



Old Hartford Election Cake

   This recipe was 100 years old at the time of publishing (1846).

5 pounds dried and sifted flour
2 pounds butter
2 pounds sugar
3 gills of distillery yeast or twice the quantity of home-brewed
4 eggs
1 gill of wine
1 gill of brandy
½ ounce nutmeg
2 pounds fruit
1 quart of milk
1 pound citron (optional)

Rub the butter very fine into the flour, add half the sugar, then the yeast, then half the milk, hot in winter, and blood warm in summer, then the eggs well-beaten, the wine, and the remainder of the milk. Beat it well, and let it stand to rise all night. Beat it well in the morning, adding the brandy, the sugar, and the spice. Let it rise 3 or 4 hours, until very light. When you put the wood into the oven, put the cake in buttered pans, and put in the fruits (see note). If you wish it richer, add 1 pound of citron.


Note: The best way to put in fruit is to sprinkle flour over it, the put in a layer of cake at the bottom, half an inch thick, then a layer of fruit, taking care that it does not touch the sides of the pan, and thus dry up; then a  little more cake, then another layer of fruit, and thus until the cake is 3 inches thick (not more), and let the top layer be cake. 

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Steward Setback Saturday: Random Letters Between the Steward of Tara and BryonySeries Author

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Found One of My Old Blog Posts on Goodreads

I forgot Sarah set the account to automatically push to Goodreads. While on the site for something else, I stumbled upon this:


Dear MOMI:

When the next book comes out, I'll load a cooler with ice cream, disposable bowls, and plastic spoons. We'll serve the free ice cream right where we're signing. I'll spring the cost of the ice cream.
Ruthlessly yours,

Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara



O Steward:


Third book won't come out until late November. Sure you don't want to do it this summer?
Respectfully,

MOMI



Dear MOMI:


Do you think we can still sell the first two books at the DC? (Note: this is vampire code for "distribution center.") Is anyone there that reads still without a copy? I agree that summer would be better for ice cream. BTW, could you send me the Byrony links? I'm on a new computer.


Ruthlessly yours,


Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara



O Steward:
Not sure who still wants any books, but an ice cream social is still a good promotion for Staked! which is coming out at the end of the year. That book has your biggest role. Besides, there's new people coming in the DC all the time.

Also, the official Visage, with the "official" art should be out in a couple of weeks. You'll receive a complimentary copy. FYI, Saturdays has the lowest carrier turnout. Any possible way you could get a sub and do a Sunday?

Respectfully, 


MOMI


Dear MOMI:


Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are the only days I can't do it.
As far as getting a sub...if you mean submarine, that would be easier then finding someone to do my route. If you mean "submissive," you've read 50 Shades, and believe me, to all of them, doing a route is a "hard limit." If you mean submarine sandwich, I could, but it wouldn't help me take off a on Sunday.

Ice cream might draw a few carriers in early though if the word went out. In my own DC, which is not as personable as Joliet, it took two years to go from not finishing one bucket to finishing three (every one speaking only Spanish or Arabic assumed I was selling it).


Ruthlessly yours, 

Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara



O Steward:


Okay, then, pick a Saturday, and let's do it!


Respectfully, 


MOMI  



Dear MOMI: 


Now wait a second. This might be a chance for you to flex your newly found fame as an acclaimed novelist. Perhaps you can market the John-John Peter experience. One of the most touching parts of Visage is the connection of father and son on the "damn route." Maybe we can market this. Bring your toddler and go out on a REAL Ed Calkins route! (Make sure that toddler is barefoot).


BTW I laughed much longer then my wife at the throwing of the shoe because I had a better picture. Did that every happen to you with one of your little angels? Let's do the ice cream social on the Saturday near the 4th of July. Also, can you give me Edgar or Frank's phone so I can ask permission? My new phone never got my Joliet connections on speed dial.

Ruthlessly yours, 

Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara

Editor's note: I sent the steward the two agents' telephone numbers, but I have received no further correspondence from the steward. I'm assuming he's very busy conducting ruthless business. Further details on the ice cream social--and if you've read Visage, you know how appropriate that social is. If you haven't, come to the social, buy a copy personally autographed by Ed Calkins, and find out--when and if they emerge.
Published on June 08, 2013 21:54 




Friday, May 19, 2017

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, May 14 through May 19

The biggest news this week is...we have a new website!

Check it out right here: www.bryonyseries.com.

The great thing is that Rebekah kept the integrity of Sarah's design while updating it for mobile. The look is clean and user-friendly. I am a happy author indeed.

Weekend plans: Well, I'm the weekend editor, so that's one.

Finish editing last week's work on Henry's chapter eight is two.

Finishing the writing portion of said chapter eight is three.

Shooting Bertrand's First Book of Numbers is four.

Making some headway on Cornell and the Necklace of Forgetfulness is five.

And catching up on some briefs for work is six.

Will I get it all done? Well, we shall see.


And now...

First, the non-bylined work: the health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars. Three of them can be found at this link:. http://www.theherald-news.com/lifestyle/ Plenty of health briefs this week, as my health cover fell through. Be sure to check them out.

Gotta Do It, runs each Sunday and often stays on the home page throughout the week.

Feature briefs for Tuesday (health), Thursday (faith), Friday (Arts and Entertainment), and Sunday (People) are also edited (texted and photos) by the lady of this blog, but only the stories have bylines.

A really awesome Mother's Day story! If you don't read anything else, scroll through this one. It's a series of photos of local readers with their mothers, along with the best advice they ever received from their moms.

Another option: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61. And of course, I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries.

Just an FYI: On free days, holidays, and Sundays I'm not on call, I only post the blog to my "real" Twitter account, as my company insists we do take time off. I'm less reasonable, so unless I'm on a real vacation, I still post to the BryonySeries accounts.

FYI: videos have not been attaching to my Herald-News stories, although they do run for a time on the home page. You may also find them under the "videos" tab.

If you'd like to watch a video, and it's not showing up for you, message me, and I'll manually attach it. No worries for this week, though, although I will have videos for Sunday.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News.


Joliet area residents share the best advice they received from their mothers

“Mother knows best.”

Most of us have heard this saying at least once in our lives, perhaps when we were young and our mothers gave us advice we didn’t want to follow. But now as adults looking back, we’re able to appreciate her sagacity.

So today, we offer a collection of wisdom as Joliet area residents share their own mother’s best advice.



An Extraordinary Life: Minooka man was a saucy kind of guy
Randy Buck made 75 varieties of barbecue sauce

One flavor, peanut butter and jelly chipotle, was as perfect for dipping onion rings as it was for adding to burgers, Kelly Strache said.



Pets of the Week: May 15

Click on the caption of each photo to find out about that pet, including where he or she can be adopted.



Mystery Diner: Embers Tap House in Lockport has unique food and beers

They also offer a kids menu for the not-so-easy-to-please subset. Embers' unique mac and cheese with penne pasta and sauce with fries on the side was enjoyed and finished entirely, with nothing left on the plate.



Joliet church breaks new ground in its ministry

Messiah Lutheran Church is ready to build its Family Life Center

“We’ve taught them the joy of giving, of putting the needs of others ahead of their own sometimes,” Rev. David Nygard, senior pastor, said. “And God has honored that.”



Honoring a Joliet police officer's memory with butterflies
Pair of stenciled butterflies find home at Bicentennial Park

The fundraising aspect of the Butterfly Effect is simple. People take pictures of themselves next to the butterflies and post to social media, Sandy Gerrettie said. The Joseph L. Gerrettie Blue Line Heroes Foundation will receive $1 for each posting, she said.

Money raised will go toward training more therapy dogs, Sandy said.



Artworks: Joliet church shows its 'arty' side with fine arts exhibit and concert
Grace United Methodist Church celebrates its creativity

Words of Wisdom: “Art lasts a lifetime, whether you’re 3 or 83. The arts can touch everybody and that’s why we should keep them around and celebrate the talents God gave us.”




Thursday, May 18, 2017

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: It took a Few Years, But....

Sunday, July 21, 2013

It took a Few Years, But....

Rebekah and I finally made it through the entire series of the Twilight movies. Painful as it was, we watched the second Breaking Dawn tonight.

Ironically, I was the first one to become intrigued with the books. After, "teen girl falls in love with a vampire" sounded like a good idea right? I remember reading a blurb about it one humid Friday afternoon in the distribution center while Rebekah and I were stuffing Sun Times Sunday inserts.

At the time, I had just grown serious about writing Bryony. Deflated, I plopped onto a work station thinking, "What a good idea. I should have written it." And then I stopped writing mine.

A couple months later, Rebekah came home with Twilight from the library. She wanted to read it in preparation for the release of the first movie. I latched onto the book and immediately knew two things: I didn't like it, and it wasn't my story. I returned to Bryony with enthusiastic fervor.

The trailer for Twilight looked okay, so I had higher hopes for the movie. I took Rebekah and one of her friends to see it; Timothy and Daniel, being good sports and laboring under the delusion Twilight was a real vampire movie, accompanied us.

The girls sat close to the screen. Timothy and I sat farther back, and Daniel had taken refuge in some remote part of the theater. As Edward was about to reveal the true reason why vampires could not tolerate sun, Timothy and I held our breaths and leaned forward. Now, we both thought, comes the gore.

Instead, we saw sparkles and heard Daniel's voice ring out, "Oh! My! God!"

Brothers have a way of keeping it real. And so do mothers writing "real" vampire stories.

For Rebekah and her best friend loved all the books and read (and re-read) them. So, I tried introducing her to vampire stories I loved.

No dice.

I enumerated all the ways the Twilight vampires didn't count as real vampire.

No dice again.

I asked her opinion on an early draft of Bryony. She loved it and couldn't wait until I could deliver a draft of Visage. Still, Rebekah persisted in her love for all things Twilight.

New Moon didn't far much better. Again, Timothy and Daniel accompanied us (Glutton for punishment?). Halfway through Eclipse, Rebekah grew bored and began playing games on her phone.

"Ah, no," I told her. "It's your turn to suffer." And I took away the phone.

And suffer she did, for I made her sit through both Breaking Dawn movies, as payback for having to sleep several years under the torture of Twilight posters hung all around the attic bedroom we sort of share.

 Granted we didn't waste any money on these last two movies at the theater (thank goodness) because we watched them on her laptop at whatever site she found that carried them.

We endured number one last fall; the showing of number two tonight concludes the series. The Twilight posters have long since come down, and Rebekah has developed a taste (so to speak) for real literature (although she still loves her manga).

She is no longer a fan of the series, as she is longer a teen girl. Rebekah will turn twenty in January. Even though we ended the adventure sharing the same opinion, the victory doesn't seem quite so victorious.

 

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Writing/Marketing Progress Summary

One, two, three, GO!


1) I spent about 12 hours working on Henry's chapter eight of Before the Blood last Saturday, assuming I'd complete it. However, the story took an unexpected turn requiring further development. So even though I'm the weekend editor this coming weekend, I SHOULD be able to finish it. In the meantime in my early morning writing time, I'm editing/fleshing out the stuff from Saturday.

2) No progress the last couple weeks on my second Cornell Dyer chapter book, Cornell Dyer and the Necklace of Forgetfulness. Hoping to add a chapter this coming weekend.

3) However, Joliet Montessori School has ten copies of Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone, which they're using as a school project. Meaning the students have read and passed them around for review/critiquing practice. I'm meeting with them next week to discuss the book and hear their feedback,and I'm super excited about this. We're planning to post their reviews on the BryonySeries website. And speaking of which...

4) Rebekah did a super job with the new website, keeping the "feel" of the old one with a cleaner, updated look. However, the domain didn't transfer so (always something) so she's going to look into it when she has a moment - and probably not this week.

5) As far as reviews go, I appealed for them on social media. I supplied the books. No reviews yet. Need to reach back out to the reviewers...

6) Staying the course of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and, of course this blog. Time to review my marketing plan and see what's next!

7) I'm also developing a grassroots marketing plan for WriteOn Joliet members. More on this later.

8) Finally, I had planned to shoot Bertrands's First Book of Numbers last weekend but got too caught up in BTB. But I DO have all the props (bought those last weekend), which are taking up space on my bedroom/slash office floor. Here's the proof.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Daniel's Graduation: Photo Fails

On Friday night, the youngest of my six children graduated from Joliet Junior College's automotive program. 

In the midst of poignancy and excitement, we had fun, too. Especially Daniel's brother attention-stealing Timothy Baran.







Friday, May 12, 2017

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, May 7 through May 12

More changes at work, more shifting of responsibilities, and a few expected/unexpected happenings.

One, a dear friend passed away last Friday. Please remember his family with prayers/kind thoughts.

Our news editor left yesterday in the middle of a busy Friday due to accepting a job at a publication that is our competitor. Please wish her success in all her endeavors.

My youngest son Daniel John graduates from junior college tonight. A number of health issues made Daniel's childhood a bit rocky, but he has overcome them all to become a strong, internally motivated young man with solid plans for his future. Please join me in congratulating him.

And now...

First, the non-bylined work: the health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars. Three of them can be found at this link:. http://www.theherald-news.com/lifestyle/

Gotta Do It, runs each Sunday and often stays on the home page throughout the week.

Feature briefs for Tuesday (health), Thursday (faith), Friday (Arts and Entertainment), and Sunday (People) are also edited (texted and photos) by the lady of this blog, but only the stories have bylines.

Another option: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61. And of course, I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries.

Just an FYI: On free days, holidays, and Sundays I'm not on call, I only post the blog to my "real" Twitter account, as my company insists we do take time off. I'm less reasonable, so unless I'm on a real vacation, I still post to the BryonySeries accounts.

FYI: videos have not been attaching to my Herald-News stories, although they do run for a time on the home page. You may also find them under the "videos" tab.

If you'd like to watch a video, and it's not showing up for you, message me, and I'll manually attach it. No worries for this week, though, although I will have videos for Sunday.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News.



Will County nursing home administrator to retire May 31

Karen Isberg Sorbero committed to serving Will County seniors

“If we can take care of you, we will,” Sorbero said. “If we have a bed for you, you can have it. If you can’t pay, don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out.”



An Extraordinary Life: Joliet woman 'spoke' the universal language
Family will celebrate matriarch’s 100th birthday by opening book

When Marion, at age 97, fell and broke her shoulder, Patricia Thomson said her mother’s attitude was this: “I have lost my husband, my hearing, my eyesight in one eye and survived. I can conquer this setback as well.”



Pets of the Week: May 5

Click on the caption of each photo to find out about that pet, including where he or she can be adopted.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/05/05/pets-of-the-week-may-5/auifbgk/


Former Joliet runner winning swimming medals in Senior Olympics

Cheryl Lisy hit the water and found a brand-new sport

Why so focused on competition at age 58? Lisy blames it on being a baby boomer.

“We’re not willing to give up all those things we did in our youth,” Lisy said.




Joliet Park District to offer Nordic pole walking at Inwood Park

The class is 40 minutes long, but participants can stop whenever they wish, Mary Magee-Huth, fitness coordinator,  said. But even the newbie exerciser with an older body can take heart: if you work those muscles, they will grow stronger.



Mystery Diner: Penalty Box has wide range of pizza, unique macs

I dug into a plate of food originally intended for 5-year-olds. Only these macs are a bit more grown up, running anywhere from $6.95 for the plain mac to $7.95 to $8.95 for anything from chicken chipotle to Sunday Morning Mac (with buttermilk biscuit) or the $13.95 Maine Mac with white cheddar, jack cheese and lobster.



160-year-old Joliet Lutheran church keeping the faith, planning ahead

"Most of our members remember the day when the church was at its strongest numerically. I've been here 10 years and attendance has declined by half," Rev. Karl Hess, pastor, said. "When you think how many large- to medium-size churches have closed just in my lifetime in Joliet, we should be grateful."



Joliet Lutheran church closes its school due to dwindling enrollment
As St. Peter’s church celebrates 160 years, the school closes

“I think people think you have to be big and showy and make money to be successful. St. Peter’s has never made money,” Claudia Putz, principal, said. “That’s never been our goal as long as I’ve been here. Teaching children the way of salvation so they can work in the world – that’s been our goal.”



2017 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry shares his works with Joliet West students
Tyehimba Jess immortalizes forgotten creators in his works

“Poetry is very much alive,” Jess said. “It’s very much a part of our national conversation about who we are and where we come from and where we’re going. There’s a lot to be learned from all of the many poetry books that are being published nowadays.”



Former Joliet resident carves niche in filmmaking

But it was during Joliet West High School drama class that Grant fell in love with directing and scriptwriting, because a teacher insisted her students do both. Grant saw his words come alive. And he liked it.







Thursday, May 11, 2017

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: My Fiction Playground

Monday, June 20, 2016

My Fiction Playground

This morning, I posted the following link on WriteOn Joliet's Facebook page:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2016/06/journal-as-playground.html

Which got me thinking about why I enjoy writing my fiction. It's play, the type of free, childhood play of lying in the grass, watching clouds in the sky, and letting the imagination wander where it will.

It's has elements in common with daydreaming, except I don't exist in that world.

Unlike daydreams that stay in the mind, I reconstruct where my thoughts go, word by word by word: a series of adding, subtracting, deleting, rewriting.

It's absorbing, exhilarating, frustrating, fun.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

How to Write (and Edit) in Layers

I liken writing Bryony to being in love for the first time.

Everything felt exciting and different. I was all over the book, forwards, backwards, upside down, and inside out. Ideas popped up at the most random times (they still do) and thrilled me with their arrival. I couldn't wait to jot them down and find and a home for them.

When I began writing Visage, my three younger kids, who served as beta readers,wanted a chapter at a time. By then, I had already tasted the sweetness of immediate feedback and wanted more.

So I turned to that dreaded tool of my grade school days: the outline.

Except this was an outline with a difference.

Here's how I structure a novel:

1) In crummy prose, I write a sweeping overview of the story.

2) I then decide how many chapters I want. I open a file for each and add the "happenings" for each. I can immediately assess the strength and weaknesses of each chapter and if there's enough tension to carry the story.

3) I write the first sentence and the last sentence for each.

4) I write a first draft of the first chapter.

5) I reread that draft and edit characters, settings, dialogue, mood, foreshadowing, tension, etc. before moving on.

6) With each subsequent chapter, I go back and check for inconsistencies in the above. These are sure to develop as characters and plot take shape. Characters especially may develop a life of their own. When that occurs, either reign them in or adjust earlier portrayals.

7) I cut anything irrelevant. If an element is essential but weak, I find ways to strengthen its purpose.

8) I walk away. I add something to the novel six days a week. But I have one day where I don't. It helps give me perspective.

9) I re-read and re-write again. This helps add three-dimensional layers to the story that first drafts can't do.

10) I have fun!!!


Monday, May 8, 2017

"Death Is Nothing At All" by Henry Scott-Holland

Beautiful poem from 1910 that I'll be sharing with a dear friend tonight.


"Death Is Nothing At All"

By Henry Scott-Holland

(1847-1918)


Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just round the corner.

All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!



Sunday, May 7, 2017

Cold Beef Stewed with Apples

Melissa is thrilled when John finally invites her to a picnic away from the mansion, just the two of them. Of course, John feels Bryga packed enough food to feed them for a week, but even that careless remark couldn’t completely dampen Melissa’s excitement of being alone with John.

From Miss Beecher’s domestic receiptbook: designed as a supplement to her Treatise on domestic economy.

Why the giant cookbook cover at the bottom? Because Facebook won't let me attach the cover in the "upload" field anymore. So, this was my way of trying to override it. I failed. :(

Enjoy!


Cold Beef Stewed with Apples

Beef, cut into thin slices
Butter
Apple, sliced fine
Salt
Pepper
Onion (optional)


Rub a stew pan with butter and put in sliced beef with pepper, salt, and apple; some would add a little onion. Cover it tight and stew until tender.


From "Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles From 'Bryony'"

All proceeds benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties. www.bbbswillgrundy.org.

Order the cookbook at www.bryonyseries.com.




Friday, May 5, 2017

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, April 30 through May 5

Ever ask yourself, "Where did the week go?"

Me, today.

In a blur of deadlines and great projects, the days passed, and a fiction weekend is upon me.

But first, I must accomplish more deadlines, a long day of interviews (my last is a meeting with a church group at 6:30 p.m. - who really wanted to meet at 7 p.m.). Running on a slightly empty tank. I prayed for the media at a National Day of Prayer event last night at a town about forty minutes away.

Extra coffee for moi today!

And now...

First, the non-bylined work: the health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars. Three of them can be found at this link:. http://www.theherald-news.com/lifestyle/

Gotta Do It, runs each Sunday and often stays on the home page throughout the week.

Feature briefs for Tuesday (health), Thursday (faith), Friday (Arts and Entertainment), and Sunday (People) are also edited (texted and photos) by the lady of this blog, but only the stories have bylines.

Another option: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61. And of course, I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries.

Just an FYI: On free days, holidays, and Sundays I'm not on call, I only post the blog to my "real" Twitter account, as my company insists we do take time off. I'm less reasonable, so unless I'm on a real vacation, I still post to the BryonySeries accounts.

FYI: videos have not been attaching to my Herald-News stories, although they do run for a time on the home page. You may also find them under the "videos" tab.

If you'd like to watch a video, and it's not showing up for you, message me, and I'll manually attach it. No worries for this week, though, although I will have videos for Sunday.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News.



Joliet photographer giving negative image of men an upgrade

Chris Braggs wants to inspire young black men to be their best

It all started because Chris Braggs, 38 and father of two preschoolers, didn’t like the negative perception of black men in his Facebook news feed.

Men fighting with each other. Kids walking around with sagging pants.

“To me, it showed no self-pride or self-worth,” Braggs said. “I didn’t like it at all.”



An Extraordinary Life: Bolingbrook woman had a H.E.A.R.T for youth
Joann Robinson helped give youth the second chance they needed

“She graduated over 3,000 students from this program,” Darryl Anderson ofWiscon, Joann's brother said. “She kept in contact with each one of those students. Each year, those kids received a handwritten birthday card from Joann Robinson.”



Pets of the Week: May 1

Click on the caption of each photo to find out about that pet, including where he or she can be adopted.



Plainfield group serves up food, information and support to patients with celiac disease
Gluten Free Wikaduke Support Group keeps celiac patients on track

A major focus is food and food preparation, said Tracy Caswell, of Shorewood and a group co-founder, said. This may include cooking demonstrations and dietitian guest speakers, along with sharing recipes and offering tips about gluten-free products and restaurants that serve gluten-free menu items.

“We’ve even done beer tasting,” Caswell said. “Everyone brings in a bottle of favorite beer – or buys one they’d like to try – and we do little shot glasses of beer.”



Mystery Diner: Chefy’s Kitchen serves the best homemade food around


We were curious as to how Chefy’s Kitchen’s poor boys compared with those served at other venues and the way each of us prepares them at home.

The menu said they came with a garlic paste; the server said this was a mixture of garlic and olive oil.

We like olive oil. We like garlic. We were sold.



Bolingbrook pastor pens book about the road to radical Christian love
'The Panther at the Cross' is a historical novel about Christian activism

Too often, according to Calvin Quarles, author of "The Panther at the Cross" and pastor of the Church at Bolingbrook, Christians act as if they're supposed to be docile and quiet, "as if Christ intended them to be the doormat of the world."



3 plant sales in New Lenox area benefit people with disabilities
Horticulture programs for people with disabilities offer many advantages

Trinity Services’ horticulture program’s spring sale opens May 5. In addition, the Lincoln-Way Transition Program will host its flower and vegetable sale on May 6 and May 13.

A spring plant sale May 6, May 13 and May 20 will benefit the House of Blooms program at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort.



Artworks: Shorewood resident's STEM book recognized by national teacher's organizations (VIDEO EXTRA)
‘Emmet’s Storm’ receives Best STEM Books designation

“It felt good to see my book listed with books by Harper Collins and other publishers,” Ann Rubino, 77, of Shorewood, said.














Thursday, May 4, 2017

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: The Language of Fans

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Language of Fans

At one ball, Melissa attempts to wave away an obnoxious vampire with her fan, worried that she used the wrong signal, for he ignores her rebuffs.

In the Victorian age, a fan was a customary, feminine accessory at a ball. Not only did women use it to revive themselves following a brisk dance, they positioned it in certain ways to convey messages, especially to men.

Nanalulu’s Linen Closet (http://www.nanaluluslinensandhandkerchiefs.com/), which offers exquisite linens, handerchiefs, home décor and gifts, posted this “Language of Victorian Fans” on its website.

If a young lady held her fan to her lips, it begged a kiss

Carrying in right hand in front of face meant, "Follow me."

Carrying in left hand meant desiring an acquaintance

Dropping it meant friendship only.

Drawing it across her eyes meant an apology.

The fan placed near the heart signaled, "You have won my love."

Did she hide the eyes behind an open fan ~ I love you.

Opening and closing the fan several times ~ You are cruel .

Drawing through her hand ~ I hate you.

Drawing across the eyes ~ I am sorry.

Letting the fan rest on the left cheek signaled, "No."

Letting the fan rest on the right cheek signaled, "Yes."

Fan opened wide meant, "Wait for me."

Fanning slowly meant, "I am married."

Fanning quickly meant, "I am engaged."

Twirling the fan in left hand ~ "I wish to get rid of you."

Twirling in right hand ~ "I love another."

Drawing across the forehead ~ "You are being watched."

Denise M. Baran-Unland