Tag Archives: #amwriting

Summer to Fall: 2017 Roundup

summer to fall

Hello Readers,

Wow!  I can’t believe it’s the end of August already.  As a teacher, my life is scheduled based on a calendar that has very little fluctuation each year, and my writing life fits within that calendar as well.  As the month of June ticks by, I make plans for what my writing goals will be.  I sketch out a schedule, (which I follow pretty well), which includes writing time to reach those goals as well as other goals.

This Summer, my goals were lofty and numerous, but I am happy to say that I feel as though I was successful reaching those goals and more.

Incomplete

In June, I completed my draft of Misty Dawn and Violet, which had been in a state of “partially done” for a really long time.  Long story short, when I get an idea for a story, I stop everything to get it started.  Needless to say, I had a number of partially finished at the start of this Summer.  In June, Misty Dawn and Violet made it to completion in June, and is in the hands of my agent!  It is a humorous romp of a story, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

July brought with it several new experiences for me and my family.  My daughter, who is ten, got involved with a local theater group.  For two weeks, she rehearsed for three hours a day, and at the end of that they performed Cinderella Kids.  Fantabulous!!!

Additionally, the month of July provided me the opportunity of a lifetime.  As you may know, I had been working on a novel inspired by the prison break that happened in 2015.  It was a very scary time, and even though I knew I had to write because of the event,  it actually took a while for me to get to a place within myself to get it all out.  That novel had been sitting in the “partially done” pile.  On July 22, I had the opportunity to audition for Ben Stiller’s Showtime Mini-Series, Escape From Dannemora!  So that was awesome…  Auditioning for the mini-series was a highlight of my life, and it was just the inspiration I needed to jump back into writing #PrisonBreakADK.

times square

August came, and my son was preparing to head off to his freshman year of college…away from home.  Before moving him onto his campus, we took a family vacation to NYC, which exceeded all of our expectations.  Central Park, Times Square, The Zoo, Stomp, 5th Avenue…there was inspiration around every corner.

It was during that trip that I discovered the magic of train travel.  With #PrisonBreakADK nearly complete, I was able to work comfortably on the train as we chugged down the tracks to Penn Station.  I don’t know how to explain it, but there is something romantic about train travel, and the process of writing, in itself, was such a beautiful experience.  I highly recommend it.  I am happy to report that #PrisonBreakADK has moved from the “partially done” pile and into my agent’s hands.

 

Now, Summer is nearly over.  My son is all settled into his college life, and all is well.  I will be welcoming a new crew of band students soon, and I will create a new schedule for my writing life that will fit into my teaching life.  Little by little, I’ll whittle away at the next project on my “partially done” pile, The First Harbor Bell.  If all goes well, I will be able to send it to my agent by Christmas.

completed

Let’s connect!  How was your Summer?  Did you meet any writing goals?  Please share them in the comments below!

In Which I Audition For A Mini-Series…

director's chair

Good Morning!

This is typically a blog about books and writers, and my journey through publishing.  However, today, I have something different to share, and it is a doozy!

A couple of years ago, there was an escape at the maximum security prison near my home.  The event rocked the North Country for three weeks, shackling its residents with fear.  It made national headlines.  The drama that unfolded during that time was something my little corner of the world had never experienced, and was the stuff Hollywood scripts are made of.

Literally.

Once I got a grip on my fear during the escape, I began to write, because that’s what I do.  I journaled, I blogged about it, and I began to formulate a novel; fiction inspired by my events and experiences during that time.  The book will be called #PrisonBreakADK, and the first draft is nearly complete.

This past year, it was announced in the news that Ben Stiller (BEN STILLER!!!) had pitched an idea for a mini-series about the escape to Showtime, and we found out recently that the project is moving forward.  This has been big news for my sleepy little town, because as part of the production, they held auditions for extras here, just yesterday, and I was a part of it!

I have been involved in a number of theatrical productions through the years, but those productions are musicals, and my role is to be a musician in the pit.  Never have I been on stage, reciting lines.  Ever…at all.  But when the announcement was made about the open casting call for extras, I just knew I needed to be a part of it.

Here is what I experienced:

It had been reported that the casting call was to begin at 10:00, but my friend Christina and I arrived at 9:00. When we got there, the line already stretched around the city block.  We were numbers 76 and 78 in the queue.  By the end of the day, the number of hopeful actors topped one-thousand, which was way more than anyone expected.  The photo below was taken while we were on line, around the block from the theater.

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While we waited on line to enter the theater, we conversed with the others, getting to relive the prison break days.  Every one of us there, had shared in the same experience those years before, and talking about it made me realize how so many of us were affected profoundly.  In line with us were officers who took part in the search, residents of the local area, like me, who experienced the helicopter searches and k-9 units patrolling our wooded areas, investigators and reporters who had been involved in the search and media, the shop owners who fed the workers in the search…It was nice to talk to those folks about our experiences.

It took a while for the casting company to get organized, considering it hadn’t expected the number of auditioners, but once they were ready, we were lined up by number, filled out paperwork, and took headshots.  Below, the photo was taken after we had our headshots, and shows my vantage point from the waiting area to the left of the stage.  You can see the line of people waiting for their headshots.

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From there, we were seated in another part of the theater, and waited for the interview process.  The next pictures show us waiting for the interview to start.

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The interview was pretty short, and while we answered questions about our profession, where we were from, our hobbies and interests, etc, the casting director sized us up, organized us into groups.  Our groups were directed below the theater stage where we would have to read a script.

Yes, a script.

This may sound unbelievable, but I hadn’t expected to have to read one.  So, yes, I got super nervous at that point.  I wanted to be an extra…in the background!  It turned out that there were still a few cast parts with speaking lines left to fill.  Smaller roles with limited lines and such.  So, with trembling hands, I took the script they handed me, and began to study it.  I was to read the lines as “clerk”.

I tried to convince myself that I could rock it.  I am a writer, and a teacher of the performing arts, albeit music.  I could do this!

As I mentioned, this was the absolute first time I had ever read a script so I could perform in a production of anything.  I have, however, worked on writing a screenplay with someone who was adapting one of my novels, but that is pretty much it.  So there I was, sitting in a hallway in the basement of a theater, studying my lines.

When it was my turn, I was called into a small room.  There was a video camera set up, and a man who was going to read the lines with me.  I hadn’t expected a camera.  Cue: internal freak out #97 for the day.  I ended up reading the lines four times, until there was a decent enough take.

For Christina and I, the process took about three hours. It took longer for others.

I have to say, kudos to actors.  To be able to pull inflection and “attitude” from just a script with a few lines on it is actually really difficult.  As a writer, I didn’t expect that.  Thinking and writing what you want is far different that performing what you want.  Believe me.

In the end, my friend Christina got a call-back!  While I have not, I am super proud that I had the courage to take part in the open casting call.  I felt that I needed to do it as part of having closure with the prison break.  I don’t know if I will get cast as an extra or not, but, even if I don’t, I can mark “Audition for a TV Mini-Series” off my bucket list..and I only realized it was on there a couple of weeks ago!

I send my gratitude to Ben Stiller, and his entire production team, for bringing this opportunity to my little corner of the world.  We were part of something big with the prison break, and I am excited to see how this mini-series plays out.

Thanks for reading about this experience!  Have any of you participated in a TV or movie casting call before?  I would love to hear about your experiences!

Let’s Talk: Writer’s Block and Writerly Inspiration

Hello!  Welcome to my Writer’s Block!  Today, I’d like to bring up the idea of a writerly roller coaster.  Can you relate to any of these ideas?

Being a writer is gratifying:  The pictures in your mind, poured out through your fingertips, and transformed onto the leaves of a page.  It’s a glorious feeling when a project comes to completion, or even simply when an early draft is complete.

But sometimes, being a writer is riddled with frustration.  The pictures in your mind, knotted up in your fingertips, and hurling themselves, if you’re lucky, into a garbled mess on the screen in front of you.  Again, if you’re lucky.  Sometimes, a writer comes up empty.

The struggle is real, folks.  We face the writerly roller coaster each and every day, hour to hour, even minute to minute.  The words may flow with perfection one moment, then…they are gone.  Writer’s block strikes again.

I revel in times of writerly feast, and ride that creative wave for as long as I can, but when writer’s block hits, I have to turn to other sources for help.  When faced with Writer’s Block, there are several things I like to try to dislodge the blocks which hold my words back.

  1. Introduce a new character.  Maybe I’ll keep them, maybe not, but somehow, just putting in a new character’s perspective into the narrative can help.  Who knows!  That character may have just what it take to spin the plot a new and exciting way!
  2. Take the last scene  I wrote, and rewrite it from a different character’s perspective (I think I see a trend…).  As in #1, above, this can help to spin the plot differently.
  3. Seek inspiration online.  Try Googling an image about the scene you are working on.  Sometimes viewing a picture can encourage your mind to come up with words that eluded you before.  This is an image I saw recently, and it really helped with my word flow:  cabin interior
  4. Seek out writerly quotes for inspiration.  Again, these can be effective in getting the writerly juices flowing.  Here is one of my faves: chekhov-moon

The process of writing is both glorious and challenging.  I encourage you to celebrate your successes voraciously; I know I do!  And when writer’s block hits, I challenge you to go after inspiration with just as much gusto!  What are some of your go-to ideas for combatting the inevitable writer’s block?  And how do you celebrate your writing victories?  I’d love to hear all about it!

Thank you for stopping by today.  Please leave your comments below!

Write What You Love, Love What You Write

Summer

Here in the Northeast, we still have school for another week and a half before kids are released for Summer vacation.  But, Summer vacation is upon us!  What does that mean for the writer in me?

Well, I no longer have to get up at 5:00 a.m…though I probably will anyway, so I can get my writing on!  It also means, that I can finally get to finishing up some writerly projects.  Some of you may have seen that I was recently able to finish up my latest draft of Misty Dawn and Violet, and it is now in the hands of my agent!  That is a great feeling!!!

This Summer, I plan to finish up another.  Just one.  Not sure which manuscript it’ll be, yet, but no matter which of my projects I choose to delve into, I can tell you that I am giddy with anticipation.

I have had several unfinished projects hanging over my head for quite a while, and I need to complete one of them.  Again, just one.  It may sound like my hovering projects are actually chores.  They aren’t.  I know this, because recently I took one out to take stock of where I last was at with it.  I can tell you that when I read through my work, I got chills.  Not chills up my spine because I had written a thriller, but the warm kind of chills, from getting to spend time with the people and places I had begun writing about quite a while back.  My characters.  My storylines.

I love them.  I miss them, and it’s time for them to come back into my life.

write what you love

The saying, “Write what you love, love what you write,” has never meant more to me.  Those unwritten stories and characters came to me back then, because I wanted to read about them, and they didn’t exist elsewhere.  And it excites me knowing that Summer vacation is just around the corner, affording me the opportunity to vacation with ALL of my loved ones; friends and family, and literary loved ones, too.  I already feel rejuvenated and inspired to turn my mere words into prose.  I’ll be sharing updates along the way, too, so you can follow along this journey with me.

How do you plan to spend your Summer?  Any writerly things on the horizon for you? Connect with me in the comments below!

 

Embracing The Courage To Fail

go for it

My husband and I were married in 1996, which, in baseball terms, was Derek Jeter’s Rookie year as a Yankee.  During the years that followed, we watched Jeter and the other members of the Yankees became super-successful in subsequent years.  As a Yankee fan, I can tell you it was a thrilling time to follow the team.

Tonight, Jeter’s Number 2 was retired, and to commemorate the event, there were televised interviews and memories shared.  But, what was it about Jeter that made him so great?  Was it natural born talent?  Was it that his parents raised him a particular way?  Was it that he surrounded himself with people he wanted to emulate?  Perhaps.  More than likely, a combination of these created the baseball player he eventually would become.

During the Jeter event today, one commentator made a statement which stuck with me.  He said something to the effect of “To achieve greatness, you can’t be afraid to fail.”

Ugh.  That’s really hard.  So many of us are programmed to “fail to fail”.  We are taught that failure is bad, that failure will keep you from your goal.  As a writer, failing can mean something small, like I don’t complete my word count, or something large, like secure a publishing contract.  It means I might hit writer’s block and not be able to move a work forward.  It could mean that the concept of a work in progress is a no-go, even when I have spent many months, or even years, trying to develop it.

Failure can be debilitating.

But it doesn’t have to be.  During the Jeter festivities tonight, more than one person commented that Jeter expected to win every day.  He gave his all every time out on the field.  When he “failed” on the field,  his took that failure as an opportunity for growth.  That’s why he was such a good Yankee captain.

#Re2pect

Jeter was successful because he wan’t afraid to fail.

As writer’s, we can use this concept to our advantage.  What does failure as a writer really mean?  Sure, the word count miss, or the lack of a publishing contract seems like they are fails.  However, in the bigger picture, we can look at these little failures as part of our eventual path to greatness.  If we keep at it, refuse to give up, change some things when what we are doing doesn’t work out, we will all get there.

Next time, when writer’s block hits, I think I will try something “radical” with my plot or characters, and see where it takes me.  Maybe next time, I won’t be afraid to play with the structure of a work, if it seems to be “failing”.  I hope I have the courage to do so.

what could go right

I’m glad I got to watch Jeter’s celebration tonight between games of the double header.  It gave me the courage to accept failure as part of a longer, more interesting, path to authorly success.

I hope things are going well with you all, and thanks for reading.  Do you have any advice for spinning failure into the big picture of success?  Let me know in the comments!

100!

100

Welcome, Readers!

It is with heartfelt gratitude that I write this post.  Today, in my WordPress notifications, I got the best news:  I have reached the milestone of 100 follows to my blog!

This may seem like a minuscule accomplishment to many.  I personally follow blogs with many more followers than on hundred.But for this small town author, it means the world, and I couldn’t be more pleased!

I have used this as a forum to showcase authors and their work, to discuss both classic literature and new reads, to talk about issues that writers face, and delve into perspectives in the publishing world.  Through the years of my authoring this blog, I have learned a lot, shared a lot, and met a lot.  I am humbled by all of you who have read, commented on, and liked my posts.

gratitude

Thank you.

Thank you for the follows.  Thank you for the comments through the years .  And thank you for taking an interest in my writerly work.  I am beyond excited for what is on the horizon.  It continues to be an honor to share it all with you.

 

Writerly Reflections and Resolutions, 2016/2017

happy-new-year

Welcome, Readers!

Happy New Year!

I hung up my Music Teacher Hat last week so I could celebrate the holidays with my family and friends.  Along with that, my family is blessed with both of my children’s birthdays during this week as well (December 27 and 29), making this week, for them, the gift that keeps on giving.  I love it!  In the quiet times of this vacation, though, I get to reflect on the year which has passed, and lay down some plans for the the coming year.

2016 brought with it the loss of many familiar people in our lives.I write about the loss of David Bowie here, but we said goodbye to so many other public figures in 2016 as well.  One loss of a very personal nature was Great Grandfather Dede, who was a World War II veteran.  A couple of years ago, he took part in the Honor Flight, which was such an emotional experience for both him and us.  His burial was incredibly moving.

2016 brought with it some fantastic writerly news, as I landed a publishing contract with REUTS Publications, began an internship with Golden Wheat Literary, and signed with agent Jessica Schmeidler, who is representing my writerly works.  I also worked along side a screenwriter to adapt one of my novels, which was as fabulous as it sounds! Here is my adrenaline-charged post about that. 

Finally, after struggling with a work in progress that seemed to be too much to handle, I had an epiphany, and mapped out the story as a trilogy, of which the first draft of Book One (The First Harbor Bell) is two-thirds complete.  I am super proud of that, as it is a story that has been brewing within me for at least five years, and whose initial seeds were planted when I was only fifteen.  I can’t wait to share The Harbor Bell Series with you!

As I roll into 2017, I have three resolutions.

  1.  I hope to continue the trajectory I am on with my writing.  I am on a serious roll with The Harbor Bell Series, as well as a couple of other things, and I resolve to continue my forward-moving progress on those fronts.
  2. I resolve to stay “above the line” as much as possible, in all aspects of my life, writing or otherwise.  For those who may not understand what that phrase means to me, here it is:  “Above The Line” means to focus on the positives in life, and to be the change I want to see.  Dwelling on the negatives is destructive, and I don’t have time for that.
  3. I resolve to get back on my weekly blog-posting schedule.  It’s very doable, and I miss it.  Along with that, I further resolve to let go of any guilt quickly when life happens and I might not be able to post on that schedule for a time.  Things happen, and it’s not the end of the world.

So, there you have it.  Wish me luck, but I know I can do it!  What are your thoughts as we leave 2016 and head into 2017?  Post your comments here!

Novel Noshing: Foods Inspired By Our Novels and Characters, Part 4

october-cutting-board

Welcome Back!  Today’s headlining picture makes me think of my favorite thing about autumn baking…apples and cinnamon.  Here in the North Country, Autumn is in full swing.  Cool, crips nights, and sun-shiny days illuminate the colorful trees here in the Adirondacks.  It’s the season for steamy drinks, comforting casseroles, warm breakfasts to get us started in the morning.

Which brings me to our featured author of the week.

For this fourth installment of my series, I present to you author Melody Winter, and her soon-to-be-released novel, INIQUITY.  Here is Melody, with a bit about her upcoming release.

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Village life for my characters in Iniquity is hard. Food is limited, and meat scarce. But the one meal that’s made every morning is a hearty bowl of porridge. The men need a filling breakfast to see them through a day working at the fields, and the women usually eat their fair share as well. The weather is cold, miserable and it often rains, hence a stomach full of warm porridge is a good start to everyone’s day.

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Athena mentions having to soak the oats overnight. This was a traditional way of making porridge. For each serving, the equivalent of 50 grams of oats was added to a mix of 300ml water and goats milk if it was available. The following morning it was cooked in a large metal pot over hot coals, stirring constantly until it boiled, and then stirred again for a further ten minutes.

Unfortunately, in Iniquity there isn’t much else you can add to the porridge as fruit and other plant growth is severely hindered by the lack of sunlight. The villagers only grow the necessities.

INIQUITY is due for release on the 25th October, available through amazon, or a signed paperback direct from Melody. The ebook is currently available for pre-order at a special discounted price on amazon:

Amazon.com: Link to Iniquity on amazon US  

Amazon.co.uk: Link to Iniquity on amazon UK

Email Melody: melodywinterbooks@gmail.com

About the author:

Growing up, Melody showed a natural ability in art, a head for maths, and a tendency to write too long English essays. Difficult to place in the world when she graduated, she pursued a career in teaching, but ended up working in finance. Melody is convinced the methodical times she spends working with numbers fuel her desire to drift into dream worlds and write about the illusory characters in her head.

Melody Winter lives in York, North Yorkshire, England with her husband and two sons. When not dealing with football, rugby, and a whole plethora of ‘boy’ activities, she will be found scribbling notes for her stories, or preparing for another trip to the nearby beaches at Scarborough and Whitby. With an obsession for anything mythical, Melody revels in reading and writing about such creatures, and creating her own.

 

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Novel Noshing: Foods Inspired By Our Books and Characters, Part 2

eat-drink-and-be-literary

Welcome back, Readers!

For today’s post in this series, I introduce author Carys Jones, with a recipe inspired by her novel, Dare To Dream, published by REUTS Publications.  Here is a blurb about the book, from the publisher’s website:

“Fourteen-year-old Maggie Trafford leads a normal life. Well, as normal as being crammed in a three-bedroom house with four siblings and a single parent can be, anyway. But despite being somewhat ignored at home, Maggie excels, earning top grades, a best friend who would do anything for her, and stolen looks from a boy in Maths.

It’s not until the dreams start that Maggie realizes “normal” is the least of her problems. Every night, she lives the same nightmare—red lightning, shattered glass, destruction. But nightmares are just that, right? No one believes her when she says it’s an omen. At least, not until the already mysterious pillars of Stonehenge start falling.

No longer alone in her fear, Maggie and the world watch with bated breath as one after another, the historic stones tumble, like a clock counting down. But only Maggie knows what it means: when the last stone falls, destruction will reign. And when the world ends, there’s only one option left—survive.”

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Here is Carys Jones, in her own words.

I chose a recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes to represent the character of Maggie from Dare to Dream. In the book, Maggie is plagued by nightmares of red lightning which ultimately destroy the world, hence why I leaned towards a red dessert.

Maggie is a sweet natured girl with hidden depth (like a great cupcake). Whilst not rich she is intense.

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Dare to Dream is published through Reuts publications and is currently available from all online retailers – https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Dream-Carys-Jones/dp/1942111088/ref=la_B004AEJO7W_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472901951&sr=1-2

red-velvet

Red Velvet Cupcakes–As inspired by Maggie in Dare to Dream

What you’ll need;

  • 250 grams plain flour
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 100 grams butter
  • 200 grams caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon red food colouring
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 175 millilitres buttermilk

 

What to do; 

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325°F, and fill two muffin tins with paper cases
  2. Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a mixing bowl.
  3. In a different bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Then beat in the food colouring and the vanilla extract
  4. Add the eggs and flour into the mix, beating continuously so that everything becomes a nice thick paste.
  5. Finally beat in the buttermilk and then spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
  6. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. To check if they’re done, pierce a cake with a skewer or knife and if it comes out clean then your cakes are done.
  7. Leave them to cool on a wire rack before adding the frosting.

 

For the Topping you’ll need;

  • 500 grams icing sugar
  • 125 grams cream cheese
  • 125 grams butter

 

  1. Mix the icing sugar, cream cheese and butter together.
  2. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.
  3. Carefully ice each cupcake (once thoroughly cooled)
  4. Decorate with chocolate sprinkles and red sugar if desire.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Carys Jones loves nothing more than to write and create stories which ignite the reader’s imagination. Based in Shropshire, England, Carys lives with her husband, two guinea pigs and her adored canine companion Rollo.

When she’s not writing, Carys likes to indulge her inner geek by watching science- fiction films or playing video games.

She lists John Green, Jodi Picoult and Virginia Andrews as her favorite authors and draws inspiration for her own work from anything and everything.

To Carys, there is no greater feeling then when you lose yourself in a great story and it is that feeling of ultimate escapism which she tries to bring to her books.

For more information about Carys please visit http://www.carys-jones.com or follow her on Twitter; @tiny_dancer85

Novel Noshing: Foods Inspired by our books and Characters, Part 1

gatsby-pic

Welcome, Readers!

The photo above, shows a Great Gatsby-inspired meal.  From the website, it states: Waldorf Salad in a lettuce cup, and deviled egg, photographed in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. http://www.denverpost.com.  I think it’s a great photo, and really sets the tone for what this blog series is about.

Today begins a month-long series, where some of my writerly friends and I will be sharing a little bit about our books, and recipes and foods which are inspired by them.  I intend to share a new post each week of October, highlighting an author or two, each time.

Planning this series was meaningful to me.  Foods and customs help to shape who we all are.  When writing, it’s important to include those types of things, because it helps create character depth, and brings a more intimate knowledge of the story to light.  When I read a novel, I want to feel like I live with those characters for a while.  This blog series is an attempt to bring you, the Reader, closer to living within the pages of our novels.  Join us!

For the first post in the series, I introduce you to J.M. Frey, the author of The Accidental Turn Series.  Here she is, posting in her own words.

 

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Bevel Dom’s Questing Cuisine

by J.M. Frey

One of the most fun parts of world building is figuring out the cuisines of the world. What grows in this climate? What is their staple grain? How often do they go to market? What kind of growing season do they get? Do they trade with neighbors, or neighboring counties, or neighboring countries? Do the highborn eat the same foods as the peasantry? Who gets to hunt on what land, and what sort of creatures do they consider food-animals over pet-animals?

For my novels and novellas in The Accidental Turn series, I firmly established a world where bread, cheese, European-style fruits and root vegetables, and farmed meat were the standards of faire. But my rogue and roving heroes – Kintyre Turn and Bevel Dom – were more likely to live off the land. Venison, eel, dried fruit and nuts, and foraged potatoes were more their speed. And in a world were exotic spices were non-existent and everyone – everyone human that is – had a kitchen garden filled with the same herbs, Bevel kept a string of cylindrical tins attached to his sword belt, and the spice blends he’d wheedled out of centaur chefs and night elf kitchen maids were his greatest treasure.

In his seventeen years as a roaming sword-for-hire, Bevel developed several clever and ingenious ways to serve up road-rations and just-caught creatures to make them palatable to two hungry Heroes. Here is one of them:

Bevel, trying to break through the heavy atmosphere, hands one of the leaf-wrapped packages to me, and the other to Kintyre. Wordlessly, Kintyre holds it out to Pip, and Pip, equally wordlessly, takes it. I take my own from Bevel, accepting the temporary truce, and it is still hot; it singes my fingertips a little. It steams as I unwrap it, and I am pleased to see that it is a sort of roll made up of meat wrapped around dried fruit. It is juicy and delicious, and I realize how hungry I am on the first bite.

“We’ve been doing this part of adventuring wrong,” Pip moans around her own mouthful.

Bevel pinks again. “I’ve had a long time to practice. Luckily, Kin was willing to put up with my experimentation.”

 “And I’m lucky Bevel actually enjoys cooking and was willing to experiment,” Kin says around a mouthful. “We got sick of standard travel fare pretty quick.”

 

BEVEL’S SWEET MEAT ROLLS

  • Venison, pounded flat (rehydrated from salted jerky is fine, if you have the time to soak it for a few hours), at least the size of your hand.
  • Dried berries – plums, cranberries and raisins preferred – rehydrated by soaking them in whatever liquor you happen to have to hand. Soak them for at least an hour.
  • Some dried nuts, roasted in a pan over your cookfire, if you like.
  • Large, thick, non-poisonous leaves – an acceptable equivalent in the Overrealm would be Banana leaves. Tinfoil would also be acceptable.
  • A Centaur Sweet and Savory Spice Blend – the Overrealm equivalent would be cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, sea salt, white pepper, and thyme blended to taste.

 

Build up your camp fire in advance so that by the time you’ve prepared your rolls the embers are hot and cherry red.  Pour three handfuls of dried fruit into your travel cup and soak it with liquor – whiskey, sherry, or brandy work best. Wait until all the liquid has been absorbed into the fruit; while you’re doing that pound your cuts of meat flat and lay them on the leaves. Muddle and chop the fruit and nuts together, and spread a thin layer over the meat. Sprinkle with your spice blend. Roll the meat and fruit mixture like a scroll, fold the leaf around it (making sure to tuck in the edges to the fire doesn’t crisp them), and secure all with a bit of string soaked with water. Place the whole package on the edge of the fire, and leave for upwards of an hour, until the meat is at your preferred cooking level, or your companion is complaining of hunger. Serve with a trencher of bread if you have any. Potatoes, baked in the fire, work just as well.

Or, I suppose y0u could do it on the Barbeque, if you want to cheat.

*

J.M. is a voice actor, SF/F author, fanthropologist and professional smartypants on AMI Radio’s Live From Studio 5. She’s appeared in podcasts, documentaries, and on television to discuss all things geeky through the lens of academia. She also has an addiction to scarves, Doctor Who, and tea, which may or may not all be related. Her life’s ambitions are to have stepped foot on every continent (only 3 left!) @scifrey | http://www.jmfrey.net/

You can find out more about Bevel Dom and The Accidental Turn series here.