What's Cooking Wednesday - Cucumber Radish Salad

Before this week's recipe, I thought I'd mention that ROOTED IN DANGER is available for pre-order. I'm also giving away a copy through Goodreads (link is the same as above). Note: If you pre-order the book through Amazon or Barnes & Noble, the actual 'release' date is an approximation. They'll be filling orders, but might not have the book in stock on that exact date. They'll send you an email telling you it's delayed and they'll also give you the option of cancelling your order. Please don't. It'll get to you. And if you have a library card, you can ask your library to order the book. That gives you a free read and keeps the publisher happy. If you need to provide it, the ISBN is 978-1-4328-2585-0

And, onto the recipe!


I was looking for something to do with the extra bunch of radishes I bought for Passover, and found this recipe. Yummy. And quick.

Cucumber Radish Salad

Ingredients:
1/4 c fresh lime juice
1 T sugar
2 Cucumbers, thinly sliced (I used 1 big one, peeled)
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
1/3 c golden raisins (I used regular, since I didn't have golden)

Instructions:
In a small bowl, mix lime juice and sugar.
In a medium bowl, combine cucumbers and radishes. (I sliced everything in the food processor) Pour dressing over. Mix gently. Sprinkle raisins on top. (I just mixed them all in together). Let the mixture stand for a while for flavors to combine. Recipe said to serve at room temperature, but leftovers are fine chilled.

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If Only I Had More Time

What I'm reading: Thinking in Pictures: My Life With Autism, by Temple Grandin (book club)

A common enough lament: If only I had more time. What if someone gave you an entire extra day?

On Wednesday, we're all getting that gift. Is it going to be just another day for you, or are you going to embrace the extra time?

I know my editor promised to have my manuscript back to me today. I'm obligated to have it published no later than March 14th. In effect, I've been given an extra day to work on editing, formatting, and making sure it's perfect before I hit that "upload" button at Barnes & Noble.

Making the Formula Work

What I'm reading: Pirate King, by Laurie R. King

Thanks to those who have already signed up for my newsletter, liked and followed the blog, and shared recipes. I'm waiting for pictures. I still have books to give away, including an ARC of ROOTED IN DANGER. And my newsletter survey is still open. Check the sidebar.

My recent reading has made me think about those who discount genre"fiction, or commercial fiction, or anything else not classified as literary fiction as predictable and formulaic.

This may be true in a sense. After all, in a mystery, the detective solves the crime, in a thriller, someone saves the world, and in a romance, the hero and heroine will get together in the end. (And probably have sex on page 191.)

However, it's not the destination but the journey that's important. And a skilled writer can make a reader forget that it's all going to work out in the end. Or at least have them wondering how, or if this might be the one book where things don't work out.

In a short story, the author had my heart pounding as her hero was in danger of drowning. Intellectually, I knew he'd be all right. He was one of the author's recurring characters, after all. So why was I trapped in the read the way the hero was trapped in the ocean?

Author Newsletter Survey

Thanks to those who have already responded to my 1 question survey about author newsletters. There's still time to chime in.

Click here to take the survey.

 

And I'm giving away an ARC of ROOTED IN DANGER to one subscriber. Details on the Deals & Steals tab.

Author Newsletters? Help Wanted

What I'm reading: Mama Does Time, by Deborah Sharp (Nook); V is for Vengeance, by Sue Grafton (print)

A few months ago, I decided to undertake a formal quarterly newsletter rather than random emails. Now, it's time for me to start thinking about what to include, and since you're the folks who read these things (or at least glance at them), I would love your opinion on what you want.

Of course, this assumes you actually subscribe to newsletters. The way my life goes, they're probably out of fashion, but I'm going to hang in there for at least a year.

Here are some things I've noticed from other newsletters.

1. New releases
2. What's in the works, with some behind the scenes peeks at the process
3. Excerpts
4. Photographs
5. Puzzles and/or games
6. Contests
7. Recipes
8. A more "personal" look at the author's non-writing life.

As I read the list, I realize I have a lot of this on my blog, but not everyone who would get my newsletter reads my blog. I really would appreciate your answers. You can either respond in the comments with your choices, or respond via my 1 question survey.

Click here to take survey



And, as a thank-you bonus: If you sign up for my newsletter, you can enter a drawing for an ARC of my next release, ROOTED IN DANGER. The drawing is open to "old" subscribers as well. To enter, whether you're a new or previous subscriber, email me at contest @ terryodell.com (remove spaces) with 'NEWSLETTER CONTEST' in the subject line.

The signup form for my newsletter is on my website home page. Be aware that it's a 2 step process. After you submit your form, you will get a confirmation email, and you have to click through on that one or you're not added to the list. This might seem a hassle, but it prevents spammers from signing people up. (And if you don't get the confirmation, please check your own spam filter—sometimes they end up there.)

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Reviewers and Genres

What I'm reading: Angle of Investigation by Michael Connelly (Nook); A Simple Winter, by Rosalind Lauer (bike)

I know some of you read my post last week at Jenny Milchman's blog about writing outside the box, or at least outside some of the genre conventions proscribed by the print publishing industry. If you haven't read it, you might want to pop over, as today's post is related to that one.

I got an email from the publisher of my upcoming Blackthorne, Inc. novel, ROOTED IN DANGER, that my ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) were being shipped. These are the final galleys, printed in trade paperback format. It's the last chance to read the book for any errors, and these are strictly errors of the typographical kind.

But what raised my concerns was the spreadsheet she sent of the reviewers that the publisher has sent ARCs to. (Or, to whom/which the publisher has sent ARCs if you're not into ending a sentence with a preposition.)

Rooted in Danger

Don't forget to leave a comment on Lynn Rush's Tuesday post to be entered in her drawing.

Normally, I eschew promotion on this blog, but one of the perks of being the blog owner is that I can break the rules. And since I'm in marketing mode, I'm still working on garnering 500 followers and 250 likes--and check the Deals & Steals tab for how to get FINDING SARAH & HIDDEN FIRE at half off.

Today, I'm unveiling the cover for my next Blackthorne, Inc. novel, ROOTED IN DANGER. Although the release date isn't until April of 2012, seeing the artwork makes things seem real.

When I wrote WHERE DANGER HIDES, Fozzie (Foster Mayhew) had a slightly larger role than his brief appearance at the end of WHEN DANGER CALLS. I didn't know much about him in that first book, and learned a bit more in the second. I knew he was Aussie, cocky, and circling in a helo, could spot the fleas on a squirrel's balls from five hundred feet. Just as I'd needed to know more about Dalton when I wrote WHERE DANGER HIDES, Fozzie demanded I tell his story. So, I did.

Here's the blurb for the book.

To Hyphenate or Not To Hyphenate?

What I'm reading: Deadly Currents, by Beth Groundwater

I'm slowly reaching the end of my copy edits for ROOTED IN DANGER. As I mentioned, just because this is the second editorial pass doesn't mean all the errors have been caught, so I have been reading the whole book. She's caught things that weren't picked up on the first pass, but I've also caught a few glitches that nobody else did.

For the most part, the editor's suggestions have been painless, and I agree with most of them. There are a few places where she's changed sentence structure, and it didn't work for me.

My mom's first language was German, not English, and her sentence structure often followed the Germanic patterns. Our family favorite: "Look for me in the bottom drawer for the pound cake."  Of course, my brother and I opened the bottom drawer and said, "Mom! You're in here!"

In one case, I'd written: She went into the bedroom closet and dragged the cardboard carton she’d brought with her to the bedside. 

The editor preferred: She went into the bedroom closet and dragged to the bedside the cardboard carton she’d brought with her.

Which would you prefer?

Another Day, Another Editor

What I'm reading: Still Life With Murder, by P. B. Ryan

If you haven't checked out WHEN DANGER CALLS as the Book of the Day featured at Ereader News Today, take a minute to pop over.

And thanks for all your comments and suggestions yesterday. I'll send a list to the editor, and will update you on our final answer.

Speaking of editors, I seem to be in editing mode these days. Just as I'm finishing up with edits on my short story, I get the copy edits for my next Blackthorne, Inc. story, ROOTED IN DANGER, which is due to be released next April. (Note: reminder to those who have been following my discussion of editorial preferences with my police procedural short story, this post is about a different story, a different publisher, and a different editor.)

I've already worked with the first round edits, where my editor and I worked with the manuscript I'd submitted to Five Star. We worked together to turn in the best possible product. But from there, it goes to their copy editing department, and they go over it carefully. Despite the efforts made to give them something perfect, they're probably going to find things that need attention.

Much as I dislike working with Track Changes, these edits come back in a pdf document, so you can't really make changes. Anything the editor changed will show up very much like it does in Track Changes, but there's no "accept/reject" option. Instead, you create a new document in Word, noting page numbers and paragraphs, and noting anything you disagree with. For the most part, changes are things to be sure the manuscript conforms to house style, and catching inconsistencies. For example, the heroine's family business is Epicurean Unlimited. However, in two places, I'd written Epicurean, Unlimited. Neither the first round editor nor I noticed it, but copy editors are alert to things like this.

Not Your Usual Interview Questions

Today, I'm over at Tartan, Ink., a new blog by authors Sue-Ellen Welfonder and Karen Ranney. They invited me to answer some very different interview questions--the sort that make you think. I hope you'll zip over there and see my answers. And it's a fun blog. Leave a comment over there so I don't feel too lonely.

And if reading interview questions isn't your thing, you can stay here and enter my contest, or find something in the "Deals and Steals" page.

And because I feel guilty not posting anything here, even though I'm somewhere else at the same time, here's an excerpt from my 3rd Blackthorne, Inc. book, ROOTED IN DANGER. This snippet features Torie, the heroine, meeting Fozzie, the hero, for the first time.

In the stronger light of the kitchen, she got her first close look at the man. There was something disturbingly familiar about him. She tried to imagine what he’d look like dry, with his dripping wet tendrils of hair restored to their normal state. He stood there, waiting, his questioning brown eyes peeking from under bushy eyebrows.

Her grip on the gun tightened and she wrenched it free. “You! What’s the deal? My father’s double-teaming me now? Sends Mr. Nasty to scare me, and then you’re supposed to come to my rescue? Is that it? How dare he? How dare you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never saw that bloke before. I told you, my car broke down. Have a heart. It’s bloody cold and wet out there. You wouldn’t want me to catch my death, would you?” One corner of his mouth turned up.

“Why should I care?” she shouted. Leftover grief, full-blown fury, or demonic possession, she couldn’t tell. But, totally out of control, she swung the gun at his head.

That book won't come out until next April, so how about a peek at Fozzie in a scene from my new release, WHERE DANGER HIDES. Here, Dalton's the hero, and Fozzie is still in 'secondary character' status I hope you can see why I thought he needed his own book.

Release Day

What I'm reading: Once a Cowboy, by Linda Warren; Night Magic, by Jennifer Lyon

Thanks to Kathryn Scannell for her fascinating and informative post yesterday. And don’t forget the big Smashwords sale from Backlist eBook authors. Details in the Deals and Steals tab. I'm also over at The Blood Red Pencil today, talking about "R.U.E."

Onto the fireworks – well, more or less. Today is the official release day for WHERE DANGER HIDES, the second book in my Blackthorne, Inc. series. This means that the publisher will begin filling orders. If you ordered the book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, the books have to arrive there from the publisher, and then they’ll go out to you. The projected “real” release date is closer to June 8th.

The publisher targets the library market, and I’m a firm believer in libraries. I know that the hard cover price of the book might be a bit steep for some in today’s economy, so another way to help out is to request the book from your own library system. The information they’re likely to ask for:

Title: Where Danger Hides
Author: Terry Odell
Publisher: Five Star / Gale Cengage
ISBN 10: 1432825127
ISBN 13: 978-1432825126

What else can you do? If you have an Amazon account, log in and go to the book’s page:

Click the “like” button near the top, and/or scroll down to the product tags and click the boxes. Doesn’t cost you anything, and helps the ranking, which can help sales.

Of course, if you want to buy the book, that’s fine with me, too.

Editing: It's About the Big Picture, Too.

Don't forget, you have until Friday to leave a comment on Kris Bock's post and be entered in the drawing for her books, so scroll down. Also, in conjunction with my generous donor of copies of What's in a Name? I'm extending my donation until Sunday, so there's still time to help cancer research. Buy links here.

Late Tuesday afternoon, I got my first round edits from my new Five Star editor, for ROOTED IN DANGER, my 3rd Blackthorne, Inc. novel. So, it’s back to editing. And back to Track Changes.
First step was to go through all the ‘insertion/deletion’ points, which were virtually all things like punctuation. I did notice that she’s a ‘sparing use of comma’ person, whereas I tend to use them more liberally. Those are easy enough to accept.

Then I read through her comments and dealt with the easy ones first. I like her eye—she pointed out several places where I’d used the same word more than once in a brief passage, or was inconsistent with usage, such as having both R&R and R and R in the manuscript.

My heroine came from money, and I’d referenced the “Society Pages” in the manuscript. My editor questioned their existence, and I had to stop and poke around a bit, to see if newspapers still reported on the social scene. They do, but it meant a bit of tweaking to get the wording more up to date.

In several places, she thought a word or phrase I’d chosen didn’t suit the character or situation, but she merely pointed that out, and didn’t suggest more appropriate wording.