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Just another day in the life:
- ___ wrote 1500 words on the book-in-progress
- ___ interviewed a chef for my next book
- ___ answered 40 e-mails, deleted around 100 unanswered
- ___ made a fleece jacket for Barkis
- ___ talked to Mom, daughter & sister on the phone
- ___ unpacked from booksigning trip last weekend, repacked for booksigning and writers’ conference this weekend.
- ___ got a royalty check for some backlist titles (thank you, Hachette)
- ___ went to the bank, went shopping (see above)
- ___ made a couple of bestseller lists with the new book
- ___ Oh, and another thing, drove the boat up onto the trailer. Why yes, that is me at the helm. What else am I going to do in all my spare time?
Take my word for it...
...this is NOT as easy as I'm making it look
It is like threading a camel through the eye of a needle. Really. Except that making a mistake is a bit more expensive.
It’s completely awesome to be named “Royal Lady of Autumn Leaves.” Just ask Pat. Meet her in person at our booksigning at her shop.
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| In her role as Royal Lady, Pat, owner of A Book for All Seasons will be traveling throughout the Pacific Northwest, representing Leavenworth at the festivals and parades around the region. |
A Book for All Seasons owner Pat Rutledge named Royal Lady of Autumn Leaves for 2009
As the 46th Royal Lady of the Autumn Leaves I want to welcome you to the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth. I know you will be thrilled with the wealth of activities we have in store for you. Whether you are looking for a quiet stroll through downtown, shopping and browsing boutiques or you’re revved for some whitewater rafting, hiking or skiing, there is no end to the possibilities for having a spectacular visit here. Come in the spring when the hillsides and mountains are ablaze with hundreds of thousands of balsam root flowers.
Surely you will want to visit us in the fall, as we host Washington State’s Autumn Leaf Festival in September, followed by three weekends of Oktoberfest.
Winter will dazzle you with our snow frosted mountains and town twinkling with millions of lights, making our Christmas Lightings one of the most magical weekends you will experience.
From shopping, to theater, from wineries to restaurants, from lodging to music, to the great outdoors of climbing, skiing and rafting ‑ Leavenworth offers all these world class experiences wrapped up in our own Bavarian hospitality.
Like Renee Zellweger’s famous line from Jerry McGuire,” You had me at Hello”, we are hoping Leavenworth will have you at Herzlich Wilkomen.
Royal Lady Pat Rutledge
Annual Peninsula Women’s Expo
September 26 & 27, 2009
Saturday 10 am-6 pm Sunday 10 am-5 pm
Kitsap Sun Pavilion, Kitsap Fairgrounds, Bremerton
Grab a girlfriend & come join us for a fun weekend of fashion, food, health,
business, home, travel and all areas of interest to women.
The Peninsula Women’s Expo will also feature fashion shows by C.J. Banks,
Christopher & Banks, Macy’s, and Catherine’s; specialized health screenings &
services; author presentations; book signings with Susan Wiggs and Sheila Roberts; Master Gardening; food presentations and more!
Admission: $5 ages 12-adult; Sunday-Sr. Celebration Day: Ages 65 & older free.
Proceeds from ticket sales to benefit Susan G. Komen Foundation.
For more information go to: www.PeninsulaWomensExpos.com
Although I’m sure my editor was charmed by the scenic flight over Puget Sound, the swimming, hiking, biking, boating and eating…I’m pretty sure this was the highlight of her trip to the Northwest:
It's the Pyrex Museum!
I'm not kidding. There's a Pyrex Museum
Pyrex Nirvana. We have found it.
Next time I have the noive to complain about my job, I hope you will remind me of days like this:
having a serious talk with my editor about the fate of Daisy Bellamy
Coffee on the patio with my editor while her children (including the large one known as a “husband”) are swimming, beachcoming, hiking, biking, harrassing the dog, building fires, eating smores and practicing general mayhem. Later, they will be treated to a scenic flight from our beach to Snoqualmie Falls, Bill Gates’s house and interesting places in between.
We were having some big ideas, along with the French Roast and smoked salmon.
Some days there is more to writing than W-R-I-T-I-N-G.
The water’s only 56 degrees F and the current is swift…so what are these people doing?
gorgeous photo by the incomparable Pete Saloutos:
It’s a fundraiser to help a friend in need. 
Barkis lying low
smells like summer
(click the photo for a bigger view)
(Reminder: You can instantly share your pics right here–http://share4pic.com/en/ Show us your part of the world…post a link in Comments.)
We never go anywhere in the summer. Not because we’re lame (though we might be) but because there is nowhere–repeat–nowhere nicer than the Pacific Northwest in summer.
Particularly right here–I have a beach outside my door, parties and barbecues to attend, books to read, friends to see, boating to be done. Summer is here at last.
Post a comment! Where do you love to spend the summer?
well-written recipes
As if my roundup of romance wasn’t enough, here’s something else to tempt you:
Local, national authors dish up their favorite recipes
By Mary Ann Gwinn
Seattle Times book editor
At my book club, things always go better with food. Amateur critics may disagree; politics has been known to trump the chosen title as the matter under discussion. But a good dinner or a sublime dessert grounds the clash of ideas in the comfort of animal appetites.
A new local cookbook combines the world of food and books: “Literary Feast: The Famous Authors Cookbook” has just been issued by the King County Library System Foundation. Compiled and edited by Terry J. LaBrue, with a foreword by local chef/author Greg Atkinson, this compendium may ease your way as you contemplate what to serve for your next literary gathering.
Though the book largely focuses on Northwest authors, it includes some A-list national writers and their recipes: Arthur Agatston, M.D. (Mr. South Beach Diet); the mystery-writing spousal unit Faye and Jonathan Kellerman. Jacquelyn Mitchard! Alice Waters! Alexander McCall Smith’s recipe for Mma Potokwani’s Fruit Cake!
Contributions by area authors seem to fall into two categories: complicated and simple. This feeds my theory that authors, like other creative types, either throw themselves into cooking (if they love it) or consider it time wasted (if they don’t).
In the “complicated” category falls science-fiction author Greg Bear’s recipe for Chicken Mole Poblano, which actually appears to be his wife Astrid Bear’s creation. Bear describes this dish as “mouthwatering” and says he and his spouse serve it each year at their home to celebrate the annual Clarion West workshop for budding science-fiction writers.
Also complicated is Seattle author Garth Stein’s recipe for Clams with Sausage, Beans and Pasta, which makes sense, since Stein managed to craft a best-seller with a dog as a narrator (“The Art of Racing in the Rain”).
“This recipe evolved from a simple cannellini bean and garlic side dish I used to make for my wife when we were first married,” he writes. “Later, I added more stock, Parmesan and some escarole, and it became a soup. And finally, I got to this form after I saw someone cook clams and sausages together on TV — I didn’t know that was possible!” Stein appears to be what my long-ago psychology professor called a “divergent thinker.”
But the most useful recipes may be the simplest, the ones in which writers create fuel to keep on writing. Kit Bakke, author of “Miss Alcott’s E-Mail,” contributes Real Graham Crackers, because Louisa May Alcott’s family probably ate them. Children’s author Brenda Z. Guiberson’s recipe for “Writer’s Almost Nonstop Soup” is what it says — a nourishing soup, always on the stove, so you can keep on writing.
And my favorite: Portland author Chelsea Cain’s recipe for Pizza à la Chelsea Cain:
1 healthy cup laziness
The telephone number of your local fine pizza establishment
Approximately $25, with tip
Salt and pepper (to taste).
You know where this is going.
“Literary Feast: The Famous Authors Cookbook” can be ordered at www.thriftbooks.com; you can find it at bookstores later this summer. Proceeds go to local literacy and lifelong-learning programs.
Mary Ann Gwinn: 206-464-2357 or mgwinn@seattletimes.com. Mary Ann Gwinn appears on Classical KING-FM’s Arts Channel at www.king.orpages/4216533.php
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company. Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 or e-mailresale@seattletimes.com with your request.
My contribution–inexplicably not mentioned in the otherwise-terrific review–originated right here on this blog–Rosemary Olive Oil Cake. I’m thinking it falls in the “simple” category. It’s fabulous. I just had a note from my friend Stephanie, who adapted it for Weight Watchers.
What about you? Do you like to cook “simple” or “complicated”? Post links to your fave recipes below!
I got to be a judge at WagFest this year. How fun is that?
more about “Wagfest! Everyone’s a winner!“, posted with vodpod
