Eating Our Way Through Europe

So, I promised book club photos, and here they are! I know I've said this before, but the sheer awesomeness of the book-club experience has been one of those surprising delights of being a novelist. I'd never been a member of a book club prior to publishing According to Jane, never so much as attended a meeting -- although I'd heard about them and had friends who were in them. However, after going to my first one and finding out how incredibly fun it was to talk about novels (mine or someone else's) with such bright, charming women, I became a fan for life. And that was even before I realized just how many delicious foods we'd be eating every time!

Chris and I above were holding court over the extremely healthy side of the kitchen (gorgeous salad! fruit and cheese plate!), and Marty and Allison, to the right, were getting out the wine and the sangria (!!) while the final touches were being added to some of the other dishes. For the book discussion of A Summer in Europe, it was decided by the president (Allison) and the member who chose the novel (Lisa) that everyone attending should bring/make a dish from somewhere in Europe and, if they had pictures of one of their personal European trips, to bring those along, too.

Well, Lisa and her daughter Megan (pictured left), who had both studied abroad in Salzburg, Austria -- a couple of decades apart -- had some beautiful photos of their respective trips and jointly made an amazingly yummy and oh-so-buttery kind of Austrian crepe-like pancake (I should have asked them to write the name down because it was in German and I couldn't pronounce it to save my life, but, boy, was it ever delicious!!) and they served it with warm jam on top. SO GOOD.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang arrived (pictured with their heart-healthy wine and sangria glasses: Marcie, Marty, Allison, Claudia and Dori) and, between them, brought apple strudel, spinach quiche, spaghetti squash with Italian sauce, pesto pasta, hazelnut-chocolate pie, marzipan/almond cookies...and more! No doubt about it, we had a fabulous feast.

As for me? Well, you won't be shocked to learn that I brought six flavors of gelato :). The limoncello, the chocolate and the salted caramel were declared the favorites...

Today, I'm blogging on Magical Musings about that feeling of luck (with or without any actual good fortune) and wishing everyone reading this -- whether or not you're Irish, whether or not you'll willingly eat corned beef and cabbage (I'll stick with soda bread and Shamrock Shakes, thank you!) -- a very Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!! Is anyone doing anything special to celebrate?

Book Clubs, Book Festivals & the Blackhawks

I'm not entirely sure where the first 12 days of March have gone... All I know is that I've been racing through them in a clearly less-than-successful attempt to get done everything I need to do before spring break hits. However, amidst all of the work, there have been some bright spots, and I wanted to pop in and share a few of those.

First of all, I'm blogging in 3 places this week. Today, I'm at Austen Authors giving a retrospective on my long journey to writing According to Jane and the undeniable timelessness of Miss Austen. Tomorrow, I'll be talking about my love of romance during Maggie Marr's "Spring Into Romance" Celebration. And Friday, in preparation for St. Patrick's Day, I'll be talking about "feeling lucky" at Magical Musings. Hope you'll be able to join me for some of these!

As for the picture above, this one is courtesy of the wonderful Pamela Cayne, who was visiting the Tucson Festival of Books this past weekend and saw my "Jane" book at the JASNA booth! I'm still so excited by that!! Thanks so much, Pam ;).

This weekend, I didn't get to fly to Tucson, but I did get to see my first professional hockey game. The Chicago Blackhawks vs. the L.A. Kings were at the United Center last night and, wow, was it an exciting game! Tied at 2 - 2 after the 3rd period, we had five minutes of overtime and then a shootout (!!) before the Kings scored a goal and, thus, won. My son, whose primary ambition in life has been to get to run down the stairs at a live game and bang on the glass, got to do just that yesterday, and I got to see my favorite player (Patrick Sharp, #10, isn't he cute?!) check someone right in front of us. My husband found both of our reactions to be rather amusing.

And last -- but far from least -- I enjoyed a fantabulous visit with a book club I love on Friday night. We talked about A Summer in Europe, and everyone there brought some food to share from one of the places on the European tour. Later this week, I'll post some pictures!

Hope everything is going well with all of you. What have you been doing in March so far??

Leap of Faith

Today, it's that awesome, comes-only-once-every-4-years, special day that -- to me -- always feels like a gift from the gods.

As usual, I have too much to do. Too much to try to accomplish before the end of the month. So I'm grateful for an extra 24 hours. And, sure, I'm excited about a few things that will be happening in March (we have some big family/friend birthdays and anniversaries ahead) but, ohhhh, I am nowhere close to being ready for the projects I have due in the next few weeks either...not to mention my own personal deadlines...

One of those personal deadlines involves finishing a draft of a new manuscript this spring -- a novel that I started writing "for fun" (because authors are insane and desperately in need of normal hobbies) about a year and a half ago, and it's a book that is not quite like anything else I've ever worked on.

This scares me to no end.

I wouldn't say the subject matter is so wildly different from my prior projects (although there are a few elements that are brand new to me) but, rather, that the writing process for this book has been unusual from the beginning. Typically, I'm a loose but dedicated plotter. I outline. I adore Blake Snyder's beat sheet -- you all already knew that. Well, this particular book doesn't seem to want to be outlined. I've tried to do the beats for it FOUR separate times, and every time the last 5 or 6 beats have changed on me... And, while there is certainly a character-study side to the narration, this happens to be a story with A LOT of plot!! I, quite literally, need to know what's going to happen in the later chapters so I can, you know, write the middle! The fact that I'm having to fly into the mist so much with this manuscript is, for me, like some crazy leap into the unknown...every single time I work on it.

So, rather fittingly, I am spending today -- Leap Day -- mostly offline and primarily writing. I need to close my eyes and take a few jumps into the story's future. I'm not at all sure where I'll land by the day's end, just that I hope (!!) I'll be a little further along on my characters' journey by tomorrow.

What about you? How are you spending this extra gift of a day?!

Are You Pinteresting?

Because I needed a new social network like I needed cement boots and a push into a very deep lake, I avoided Pinterest for months. I'd heard excited rumblings about it being "so fun," "so cool" and, worst of all, "so addictive but you'll love it"... I wisely stayed away.

Well, I'm wise no longer. Curiosity of this online bulletin-board-like site got the better of me this weekend, and I signed up: www.pinterest.com/marilynbrant

I've only just begun pinning, but two hours of searching through awesome photos and other people's interesting pages was, clearly, insufficient to satisfy me today. I want to create more boards! I want to start labeling the ones I've already begun! I want to sift through more, more, more pictures of Nutella brownies and Budapest and glass necklaces and pasta and adorable raccoons! SO MUCH VISUAL COOLNESS IN ONE PLACE!!!

I know. This will lead to no good for me. It hasn't even been 6 hours and I already love it too much. I think I'm going to have to treat Pinterest like dessert -- something I get to enjoy only after I've finished my main meal or, in my case, my main writing tasks for the day. But...I justify my involvement (because I have a background in psychology as well as art) by telling myself that it will be HELPFUL for my writing because I can make up special bulletin boards for each of my books. And include recipes, where applicable. And favorite lines. And images of Jane Austen...and European sites...and fancy coffee drinks...and ice cream sundaes...and...and...and...ohhhh, I wanna go do it again RIGHT NOW!!!

(*Forcing self away from keyboard*)

So, are any of you Pinteresting already? Hmm?? If so, what do you think of it? If not, are you tempted?!

My "Strength"...Isn't Exactly An Organized Office

A quick hello to you all and a heads up that I'm in two places at once tonight/tomorrow! It's my blog day on the Girlfriends Book Club, and I'm writing about something I've been pondering for a while...embracing not only our weaknesses but, also, our strengths.

Also, I'm a guest at Reader's Entertainment where my messy office space is being highlighted in their "At the Desk" feature. It was fun to share a bunch of pictures of my work area and be reminded that writing is, indeed, an exercise in chaos!! (At least at my house. ;)

For those of you who are writers, what is your workspace like?? Where do you do your best writing? Do you edit in the same location as you do your drafting, or do you have a different spot for each? For everyone, what's your favorite place at home to read?

I Got My First Real Six-String...

...bought it in my college dorm, played it 'til my fingertips turned purple, it was the winter of '88.

(Yeah, I know Bryan Adams had better lyrics and, also, his rhymed, but my version of the song would've had to start out differently. You just never forget your first guitar, do you? Or, um, your first really steamy summer...LOL. ;)

My ever-wonderful brother took me to see Bryan in concert at the Chicago Theater last night, and it was a fantastic performance. The "Bare Bones" tour featured only Bryan on guitar/harmonica, alongside a piano player named Gary (Breit?), who was also an outstanding musician. Considering it was just the two of them performing acoustically, the sound quality was amazing, and Bryan's powerful and distinctive voice filled the theater.

I knew and loved so many of the songs he sang. Really. It was like I got to relive the nostalgic '80s and half of the '90s in two music-packed hours. "Run to You," "This Time," "It's Only Love," "Here I Am," "Cuts Like a Knife," "Somebody," "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," "Straight from the Heart," "Coming Back to You," "Heaven" and "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" were some of the popular selections -- as well as "Summer of '69," which I couldn't wait to hear again.

[photo credit of Bryan Adams onstage: Jeff Daly/WENN]

The show was actually rescheduled from early October, when Bryan had to cancel because of illness. Instead of a sunny autumn Saturday, we had to go downtown on a freezing January Tuesday night, on a day when it had been raining/snowing/hailing (in various combinations) all morning. So, when I say this concert was worth the wait and the added travel challenges, you have to know it was a great show!

Here he is performing "Summer of '69" at Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985:



Do have a favorite or most memorable Bryan Adams song?!

Mr. Forever...and the Quest for the Perfect Scone Recipe!

Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming my long-time friend and Chicago-North chaptermate, Sara Daniel, to Brant Flakes! Her new novel, Mr. Forever, was just release from Musa Publishing a few weeks ago. It's already garnered some great reviews, including one that gave the story 4 Hearts and called her heroine, Olivia, "fantastic ... feisty and fierce" -- congrats!

Mr. Forever is a contemporary romance in which the discovery of a secret baby threatens the hero's professional reputation. Falling for the woman who loves this baby would ruin him. Take a peek at the blurb:

Marriage therapist Caleb Paden has just found out he has a son from a one-night stand, making a mockery of his core belief of stable relationships — “friendship above all physical encounters.” On his way to take the child for a paternity test, a snowstorm leaves him stranded with single mom Olivia Wells, who blames his advice for breaking up her marriage. Caleb finds himself fighting the urge for the most basic of physical encounters. Olivia would like nothing more than to destroy the career he spent a lifetime building, but her maternal instincts draw her to help Caleb bond with his child. Soon, she finds herself falling for both of them. Nowhere in any of his advice does Caleb have an answer for how to make a relationship work if he loses his heart to love.

Ooooh, sounds good, doesn't it?! Sara is here to share with us her search for the kinds of amazing scones her heroine Olivia makes. Since she knows I'm a confirmed sweet tooth and lover of carbs, she came to the right place to be appreciated ;). Welcome, Sara!

Marilyn, thanks so much for hosting me today. I've noticed you like to talk about food. Usually when it comes to cooking and baking, I prefer to do the bare minimum to keep my family from starving. But ever since I started writing Mr. Forever where my heroine Olivia makes scones as the specialty of her inn, I've been obsessing about scones. I'm hoping you and your readers can help me in my quest for the perfect scone.

See, my heroine has been called a "scone sorceress" and "scone goddess." She's gotten instant marriage proposals because of her amazing scones. Did I mention she makes plain scones along with two flavors of the day every day? All of this was fabulous in my imaginary writing world until I wanted to connect with my inner goddess and make scones delicious enough that men would take a bite and instantly fall in love.

My journey started off on an inspiring note. The drive-thru man at my local coffee shop promised me his pumpkin spice scones were so good they would change my life. Of course, I jumped on that offer. Story research and a new improved life--talk about getting the most out of my four dollar investment! I took notes at my desk while I ate it. It was good, but I have to admit my life seemed pretty much the same routine of laundry, dishes, groceries, etc.

I was ready to take the next step -- making my own scones. At this point I also had some very brown bananas on my counter in desperate need of being turned into banana bread. As I looked up scone recipes, I discovered one for banana scones. Perfect.

Alas, the banana scones were … not perfect. The dough was a sticky, gooey mass. Cutting it into triangle wedges was a disaster. The oddly shaped lumps were edible when they were warm straight from the oven, but they were dry and heavy. Basically, I had baked a really bad banana bread. This was not how I envisioned my scone sorceress's amazing creation would taste, at all.

A few days later I went to a children's tea party, where the girls sipped hot peppermint tea and nibbled store-bought blueberry scones. These scones were sweet. They weren't as good as the pumpkin spice scone I'd started my adventure with but were certainly better than the banana disaster.

I worked up my nerve to try one more recipe. I found one for almond-poppy seed scones. This time the dough shaped nicely, just like the instructions promised, and came out of the oven looking beautiful. I was excited. I tried one, and they were good but not quite as sweet as I hope. I checked the recipe again. I'd forgotten the sugar! How could I have forgotten such a simple thing? So, I coated them in powdered sugar to make up for it, and they were pretty darn good. But still not perfect.

So, I made another batch -- remembering the sugar (duh!) AND adding powdered sugar and sliced almonds after they came out of the oven. This time the dough was a little stickier, but overall they proved to be a sweet, yummy snack. (I had them for snacks and breakfast.)

I've come to the realization that no matter how much I try to channel my inner heroine, I am no scones goddess. My life is pretty much the same, and I'm happy with it--thank you very much Mr. Over-Caffeinated Drive-Thru Man.

However, I am still on the search for the perfect scone recipe that will evaluate me to goddess status. (I don't need any men to fall instantly in love with me, but I'd love to have my children obey my every command.) Anyone have a scone recipe they can offer to help me out?