Pen, Spoon & Dagger

As soon as the leaves start to fall, I start to think of comfort food -- soups, stews, pasta, and lots of cheese. As Jonathan Swift once said: "Bachelor's fare: Bread, cheese, and kisses."  He forgot the beer.   The English favour a pub meal called a Ploughman's Lunch, basically composed of cheese (usually a thick piece of Cheddar, Stilton or other local cheese); pickle (or what we call "relish" in the US), bread, and butter. If you're really lucky, a green salad, an apple, celery, pickled onions, or pâté may join the cheese on the plate. The ensemble is washed down with a pint of (warm) beer.  Sheer bliss, if you can get over warm beer. I Like things simple, so I've cut out the middleman -- I mix my cheese and beer, and spread them on my bread. Cheddar Ale Spread 6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (1½ lbs) 3 oz cream cheese, softened 4 Tbsp soft butter or margarine 3/4 cup ale or beer ( I like oatmeal stout, but any beer wi...

Did you ever own a Raggedy Ann doll? If you're female, I'm betting you did. I've lived in Connecticut for almost 30 years, and it wasn't until recently that I discovered that Ann -- and her brother, Andy -- were created right here in my home town. It's a known fact that the duo were created by Johny Gruelle. Gruelle was born in Illinois, but eventually moved his family to the East Coast, where he'd accepted a full-time position with The New York Herald (turning out weekly pages of his Sunday comic, "Mr. Twee Deedle"), as well as several book illustrating commissions. Around 1912, he built a house in the Silvermine area of Wilton. Somewhat of a pioneer, he included amenities most homes didn't have: electricity, running water and -- ta dah - indoor plumbing. There are several versions of the story of how Raggedy Ann came to be, but around here we go with the bittersweet version. Marcella, the Gruelles' 13-year old daughter, contrac...

When you hear about writers' retreats, do you picture sunny beaches, cabana boys, and pina coladas, or do you see a room full of people feverishly scribbling notes and engaging in heated discussions? If you picked the first choice, you're WRONG. I just returned from the Seascape Mystery Writers Retreat , and let me tell you, we worked our [insert word of your choice] off.  I'm not saying we didn't have have great time, but it was no  lay-in-the-sun vacation.  We worked on our manuscripts, discovered our strengths and weaknesses, and commiserated on the uphill battle of getting published..  We honed our skills at plotting, creating suspense, and developing characters.  And we did it from 9 AM to 9 PM.  Along the way, we made new friends, found hidden talents and laughed a whole lot.  Hallie Ephron, Roberta Isleib, and S.W. Hubbard generously shared their talent, wisdom, and knowledge with us.  We learned how to pump up suspense, how to develo...

Sometimes writing can actually  save you time - especially if your primary character is a caterer. Most days, I carve out an hour or two to write, or do research, fitting the time in whenever I can.  Sound familiar?  Good writing takes time, and that's time taken away from everything else we need to do - like laundry, holding down a job to pay the bills, etc.  I don't regret the time, I just wish there were more hours in the day. Generally I look to my life for inspiration for my writing, but this week I'm going the opposite way.  My current WIP has the protagonist faced with catering a huge cocktail party - a senate campaign launch..  The first thing she has to do is decide on a menu, and then prepare the food for 150 hungry people -- all in 24 short hours. As life would have it, I'm planning an open house/cocktail party in celebration of my mother's 90th birthday this month.  Who better to consult than my own character?  The menu is alrea...