Julie, Julia and Me by Mackenzie Crowne

I’ve got a short but heartfelt post this month since I’m in Manhattan with family and there is a lot going on around me and, well, I don’t want to miss anything. So, last week, I found the movie Julie and Julia on the listing and settled down with an adult beverage and some popcorn to watch. I’d seen it before, years ago, before I was published, and enjoyed it. At the time, I considered it a movie about cooking, but watching it again, I was surprised to discover the publishing industry is a main theme…and how much Julia Child and I have in common. We both cook. Oh, wait. That's wrong. I don't cook. But I do drink, and so too did Julia, apparently. :-)     via GIPHY

Like me, Julia was a published author and it took a while for that to happen. Unlike me, however, Julia found major success, by industry standards, that is. But, back to the movie.

 As is the case with most movies involving writers, both Julia and Julie found their successful HEA’s in the publishing industry. Which brings me to the point of my short post. I’m here with a gentle warning to those would-be writers out there. You know who you are, the ones with stars in your eyes. And here it is: If fame, fortune, and fawning is the reason behind your writing mojo, you are probably going to be disappointed. Sad, but there it is.

That's not to say major success is out of reach. If it weren't attainable, there wouldn't be a NYT Best Seller list, would there? But, the space between publishing and that list may as well be a cavern. Many dream of spanning it - few achieve the crossing. The cold hard truth is, most of us hit somewhere much lower on the success scale than Julie or Julia achieved, but if you’re like me, and writing is compulsory, seeing your stories shared with others is, in itself, success. My most heartfelt advice for you is to write for the sheer joy of it. Write for yourself because there WILL be those out there who will not support your efforts. And lastly, write for the love of writing and you'll never go wrong.

When Mac isn’t in Manhattan having fun with her family, she keeps herself busy doing what she loves. Writing sensually romantic stories with a side of sass like To Win Her Smile, the latest in her Players Series from Kensington Publishing.

2012 - The Year of Good Eatin'...

by Amber Leigh Williams

Resolutions and I do not have a good track record. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember last year’s resolution. I think I’m more productive across the board when I don’t have a resolution. This is due in part to the guilt. If I’m not doing it, I feel guilty. If I feel guilty, I tend to wallow. Therefore, for me, guilt and productivity don’t mix well at all.

It’s taken me eighteen days to come up with a solution. My 2012 resolution will be to feel less guilty because this year’s will be just for fun. If I don’t find the time to do it, it’s no big deal. If I do, then yay!

It was while coming up with a recipe for a guest blogging article this week that it struck me. My husband is so much better than me in the kitchen. (I brag about his specialty in the kitchen here.) Since the day we’ve met, he’s had this natural cooking ability. Perhaps because he was forced to help in the kitchen throughout his early life while I didn’t learn to boil an egg until I was eighteen. (Sadly, that is not an exaggeration.) My mother cooked these beautiful meals. To my knowledge, nothing was ever burned or undercooked. Me? Well, I’m the opposite. I manage to both burn and undercook things. I’ve nearly set the kitchen on fire three times in the last year. However, there are a handful of things I do well. My banana pudding happens to be my husband’s favorite dish. (He even chose to forgo a traditional groom’s cake so it could be served at our wedding!) I make my own special spaghetti that I cook for dinner guests with Texas toast, salad, and red wine. When my younger sister went off to college, she even asked for the recipe to take with her so she could have a taste of home three hundred miles away.

While watching Julie & Julia, I realized what I wanted to do. My new year’s resolution is to find three new recipes I can enjoy making as much as eating, like spaghetti and banana pudding. I’ve already found the first one. I was inspired by the television show, Downton Abbey. Whenever those Granthams sit down to a formal dinner scene, I instantly get hungry. By chance, I found the recipe for “apple charlotte” from the show online. It’s simple and sounds absolutely delicious! And, as an added bonus, I usually have better luck with desserts and baking. The preparation layering is very similar to banana pudding….

INGREDIENTS

• Butter, for greasing the pie dish and bread
• 9 slices bread, crusts removed
• 6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly (peel reserved)
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Sugar, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter a pie dish and the bread slices. Place a layer of bread at the bottom, then a layer of apples. Sprinkle over these a portion of the lemon zest and juice, and sweeten with sugar. Place another layer of bread, and then apples, proceeding in this manner until the dish is full.

Then cover it up with the peel of the apples, to preserve the top from browning or burning. Bake in the oven for about 45-50 minutes; turn the charlotte onto a dish, sprinkle sugar on top, and serve.

Read more here.

The next recipe I’d like to master is slow cooker chili. For me, chili growing up meant a few cans of Hormel, a sprinkle of cheese and a small dollop of Daisy® sour cream. One bite of my sister-in-law’s chili, however, was an enlightening experience. It’s wonderful and diverse and has a little bit of a bite to it. (She makes her own salsa, too, which is to die for! Apparently, that great cooking gene was distributed evenly throughout the hub’s siblings.) I’m determined to find out how to make great slow cooker chili by the end of the year, maybe even get my hands on the in-laws’ recipe….

As for the third recipe, I would love to be able to treat the hub to morning pancakes. So far, I’ve been hopeless with breakfast. He’s been making omelets and sausage for me for the last eight years. Though pancakes may be a little trickier than apple charlotte and chili, it’s worth a shot!

Do you have trouble keeping resolutions? How about making a fun one that doesn’t make you feel guilty if it doesn’t quite pan out and which can still enrich your life if it does? Another one of my fun resolutions? To read more. Last year, I read far fewer books than the year before. Now that my eyeglass prescription has been updated, I’m ready to dive into my TBR pile with both hands. So here’s to a year of good eating and good reading!

If you have a fun resolution, shout it out! I’d love to hear more….