Savoy Biscuit

Tomorrow, my book designer Serena Diosa, author of Tinkey's Goldfish, and I are meeting to complete the formatting of the Bryony cookbook, Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony." Tonight, a new member of the Bryony team is giving a hard copy of that book a final check for copy and formatting errors.

Today, however, I found an interesting recipe, Savoy Biscuit, in the 1860's cookbook,

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

This particular cookbook, reprinted by the University of Michigan University Library, has been a marvelous source of Victorian recipes for the Bryony cookbook, although Savoy Biscuit was not one I included.

If anyone prepares this at home, let me know how it turns out. I don't like eggs, so I won't be trying this one. I'm thinking you certainly bake them with all those eggs, but the recipes doesn't suggest a temperature or time.

Savoy Biscuit

6 eggs

1 pound sugar

1 lemon

3/4 pound flour

Butter

Beat eggs into sugar until white. Grate the outside of the lemon into it, mix in flour, and drop them onto buttered paper, a spoonful at a time.

NaNoWriMo Day #'s 13 & 14 and Miscellaneous Munsonville Musings

Bryony Prequel, Section One: Nothing

Word Count: 0

Hand is getting there; hopefully, the prequel will soon be, too. I'm reluctant to give away details yet, since I will be writing about the mishap for the Herald News. When that day comes, I'll share the link. At any rate, National Novel Writing Month's good intentions aside, this was one sidetrack I hadn't seen coming.

My book designer, Serena Diosa, author of Tinkey's Goldfish, had a family emergency last week, but we are meeting on Thursday evening. I'm using this extra time to give Bryony one last read. Once formatting errors are repaired, we will FINALLY have a book ready to go. I've also made a dent in some other editing projects, so, all in all, the hand injury wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Definitely missing the five-mile walk, but had no energy for it, until today. Now, if I could just stop oversleeping....

On the crisis homefront, I now have a sick cat, and my oldest son has an infected tooth. He's following right behind my oldest daughter, who just had four iinfected and impacted wisdom teeth removed and then waged war on an antibiotic allergic reaction and two dry sockets. Rebekah pulled her back while emptying garbage cans at the warehouse, and Daniel's bloody nose has returned, necessitating another cauterization. It's starting to look like an infirmary around here.

Sarah Stegall, Bryony's web administrator, has been working with Rebekah (who's now offically the web administrator assistant) on creating Bryony Facebook ads. Those should be up and running by next week. Tommy Connolly, Bryony's media researcher and developer, is putting the finishing touches on the press kit.

Last Wednesday, earlier in the day, before the hand emergency thing, the lovely Kallan Dee Ellis of KALLAN Studios, shot some gorgeous publicity photos at the P. Seth Magosky Museum of Victorian Life and Joliet History. The idea was to have a press shot of me with a Bryony aura, and Kallan more than successfully accomplished it. I can't wait to show off the pictures!

Also, Dulcinea Hawksworth, Bryony's director of marketing, completed the "music box," which has been duly sent for CAL Graphics, Inc. for completion of the official CD cover for The Best-Loved Compositions of John Simons, the CD that contains all the Bryony music--including the theme song--that pianist/composer James Onohan created just for the novel.

To create Bryony's music box, Dulcinea started with simple wood box with a gold clasp from a craft store, stained the box to resemble cherry wood, then painted on green vines and pink flowers. I think she is also intending to line it. I've only seen pictures, but those are beautiful. I can't wait to see it up close.

In the meantime, I'm reveiwing editing options for Visage, so we can start, in earnest, on planning a release date for Bryony book number two. We are also in the end stages of finalizing the Bryony cookbook.

Stay tuned and pray this author's hands stay safe!

VampFest is Approachin'...It's a Busy Week in Munsonville!

LOTS of interviews scheduled early this weeek, so I can loosen my deadline schedule a bit as the week progresses. Still, I have one I didn't finish over the weekend and two other stories to edit.

A galley of the the official "Bryony" cookbook, "Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from 'Bryony,'" was sitting inside my inbox this morning with a lovely note from Serena Diosa, author of the "Tinkey's Goldfish" series.

Serena did all the formatting for both "Bryony" and the cookbook. Since she did such a lovely job with the novel, I can't wait to peek at the cookbook.

We're still hoping to have "Bryony" for VampFest. Proof copies arrived Thursday, but there's an issue with the ISBN number, so it's back on the phone with Bowker this morning. Please pray for a speedy resolution.

I have two radio interviews this week, and two newspaper stories will be published this week, thanks to freelance writer Jeanne Millsap. Jeannne and I had lunch last week, bemoaning the fact that our busy schedules don't seem to allow more than one lunch together a year.

I'm blessed that a such a good friend handled my first interview (I hope I didn't botch it too much) and that she was sooo excited to hear about "Bryony" and the story behind the book.

Tonight, we're having a pre-VampFest costume party at my mother's house. Since she no longer has a house full of kids (and cats), she had graciously consented to the the keeper of the clothes until all our volunteers are properly garbed.

Sarah, Bryony's web administrator, who just flew in to help with the silent auction and final details, couldn't wait until tonight to select her costume and emailed me a photo of her dressed in her vamp outfit of choice. If she has a moment, I'll have her post a picture.

Heather Frelichowski, owner of Crafty Moms, Inc. and official "Bryony" seamstress, will be there, too, making temporary adjustments to costumes (they belong to a local college theatre) and (hoping with fingers crossed) fitting my daughter Rebekah (our Melissa for the night) and me with our ball dresses.

Rebekah wanted to wear the first dress Melissa found herself when she went back in time: yellow, trimmed in lace and pearls. Mine is deep purple with flecks of glitter. We can't wait!!!

Oh yes, and there's still a few last minute silent auctions to pick up.

Whom Do You Admire?

A write acquaintance of mine, Serena Diosa, posed this question on her Facebook page for Tinkey’s Goldfish, a children’s book she wrote and self-published. In the several weeks since reading this post, I’ve pondered and considered about how to address it. I can list the people I love, respect, etc., but admire? This morning, it came to me: St. Therese of Avila. St. Therese was a sixteen century Roman Catholic mystic that suffered from ill health and experienced visions (some say she even levitated during Mass). She wrote her Interior Castle under obedience from her superiors and tells her story in a rambling, chatty prose that made me feel I was having a conversation with her. With Interior Castle, St. Therese suggests the soul is divided into seven rooms or “castles,” each having a particular character of its own. She describes each state so clearly, I could easily discern where I was on my spiritual journey using only her roadmap for my guide. I remember the first time I read Interior Castle. I was battling strep and waking frequently from the throat pain; my six month old nursing baby (now a strapping twenty-year-old culinary arts sutdent) woke up in-between those times. Upon each awakening, I would turn on the little light by the bed and read until I grew sleepy again. St. Therese’s writings were so compelling, I forgot about my sore throat and actually began to look forward to the disrupted sleep, so I could read some more. So why do I admire her? I'm attracted to her approach regarding life and mysticism; I appreciate her writing style. She also accomplished something most writers will never achieve (although many secretly hope they will): a manuscript people still seek out and voraciously read, centuries past her death.

Ever Been Confronted with a Life Changing Event?

I’m sure just about everyone could answer “yes.”

Yet, when I read this post on indie author Serena Diosa’s The Beginnings of Tinkey’s Goldfish Facebook page, I remembered an event from 1997 that didn’t seem particularly life-transforming on the surface.

However, as it happened, I felt an odd “shift” in myself. I recognized it as such, although I didn’t know at the time where it would lead me.

This is what happened: The pastor at the church where I belonged at the time asked me to accompany him to a three-day young adult ministry conference in Chicago. He could only stay for the first day. I was to attend break-out sessions all three days and submit a report, which would be forwarded to our bishop.

While it sounds like no big deal, it really was. I had not done anything like this since college, and I was thirty-six. I was married to my first husband and was raising and homeschooling six children between the ages of two and fifteen. I had not even had a proper vacation since I lived under my parent’s roof because money was so scarce.

Not until day two of the conference had ended, and I was checking into my hotel room did I realize I had never spent the night in a hotel without my family. Before I headed down to dinner, I kicked off my shoes, turned on some music, and literally reveled in the unseen change that had entered my life. Something was going to happen; I just knew it.

I enjoyed a nice dinner (accompanied by St. John of the Ladder’s The Ladder of Perfection, which I had always wanted to read) and spent the following day taking notes, meeting people, and networking with others in my denomination. On the last morning, I had breakfast with one of the session leaders.

Shortly thereafter, this same priest taught me the basics of writing on a computer (I didn’t own one) and assigned me stories for the diocesan newspaper. I was already writing two free columns a month for the local newspaper, and I do mean writing. I didn’t even own a typewriter anymore, but the opinion page editor liked my work (writing the columns was his idea), and I figured it was good experience.

Six months later, I was a single parent and writing for that newspaper. My resume? A happy fan who was also the manager at the newspaper's distribution center from where I delivered newspapers and clips from those columns and church newspaper.

Tinkey's Goldfish

Tinkey’s Goldfish is the title of the first book in a series of positive children’s reading material a writer acquaintance of mine, Serena Diosa, is hoping to create (She self-published the first book in 2009).

Writing objectives aside, Diosa’s ultimate goal is to offer a website full of quality children’s reading material from a variety of authors, perhaps even posting short stories children can read for free.

I find her aspiration and her steps toward it intriguing because, as a homeschool mother of six, a former Sunday School director and youth leader, I gravitate toward projects that support and affirm young people.

So, I “fanned” the Tinkey’s Goldfish Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-beginning-of-Tinkeys-Goldfish-childrens-book-series/259815391263?v=wall to keep up with Diosa’s progress.

That’s when I learned Serena just doesn’t merely encourage reading, but writing, too, by offering suggestions to start the words flowing.

Some of her ideas were though-provoking for me, too, so I clicked onto “New Document:” and began writing. I’ll share the results with you over the next few Sundays. Maybe, it will get someone else thinking (and typing), too.