Camy's Loft

I can honestly say this is something new that I haven’t seen in a book (yet—watch, now someone will say they saw this online at FoodNetwork.com or something like that).

I took a couple recipes and combined them, and then modified them according to what I had in the pantry.

It turned out really good! The balsamic vinegar combined with the broth was a good compliment to the salty bacon and the starchy potatoes. And our yellow squash was from our co-op vegetable basket this week, and they were soooooo fresh and crisp and sweet!

And now I’m sharing it with you!

Yellow squash, bacon, basil, potato pasta

3-4 slices of bacon

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 red potatoes, diced (You could use any potatoes on hand, I think—I just happened to have the small red potatoes. If you have russet potatoes, which are a bit larger than red potatoes, use just one or two of them.)

1/4 to 1/3 pound dry penne pasta (actually, any of those short pasta shapes will do like fusilli, rigatoni, etc.)

1-1/2 to 2 pounds yellow squash, sliced (you could also substitute any type of squash in your garden/at the store, like summer squash or zucchini)

3/4 cup broth (I used chicken, but you can use beef or vegetable broth)

splash of balsamic vinegar

a handful of basil leaves, chopped (or if you have some other fresh herb on hand, use those—I think you could probably use thyme, rosemary, or sage and it would be good, too)

salt and pepper

1. Heat water to a boil in a large pasta pot. Add salt and a little oil to the water. Add the potatoes and pasta and cook according to pasta directions.

2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan (I used a wok because mine is huge and I’m able to mix the sauce with the pasta in it). Sauté garlic and bacon for 3-4 minutes.

3. Toss in the squash and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the broth and simmer for about 8 minutes, until the squash is tender.

4. Add the splash of balsamic vinegar and stir. Be careful not to add too much, because you can always add more if it’s not enough.

5. Meanwhile, drain the pasta and potatoes. Add it to the pasta sauce and mix well.

6. Add the basil leaves and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Serve immediately with some grated parmesan cheese (I thought this cut through the balsamic vinegar really well).

Aside from the bacon, this is a really healthy dish, and even the bacon is not too bad because you don’t use too much. Captain Caffeine said the bacon really added to the dish because the saltiness complimented the pasta and potatoes.

If you try this, tell me what you think!Captain's Log, Stardate 07.23.2008

Captain's Log, Supplemental

I am a thrift store junkie. If gas weren’t so expensive, I’d be at Goodwill and Salvation Army every day. Or at least every week.

I’ve just unearthed one of my best finds—an old Sunset Family Circle recipe book for breads. These are all the old-fashioned recipes from the 50s and 60s.

I love this book. I’ve already made tons of things from it, most often the scones and the biscuit recipes (I substitute the biscuit recipe whenever a recipe calls for Bisquick).

Today, I was reading a book where the author talks about eating brioche bread, so I’d had a hankering for it all day. Then it occurred to me to check my Sunset book.

There’s a solid, old-fashioned brioche recipe in the book, but it’s a bit elaborate. So I modified it for my bread machine! Aren’t I smart?

It’s baking now. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

What about you? Any great thrift store finds that are worth their weight in gold?

Update: My breadmaker was burning! Actually, the dough rose too much and a few pieces fell over the edge of the bread “basket” of the maker and on to the heating element underneath, and the dough started burning when the element kicked into high heat for baking.

We smelled the burning and then I saw the smoke coming out of my breadmaker. I freaked out!

Once I opened it and looked inside, I could see what happened. So I took the bread “basket” thingy out and I have stuck it in my oven. Luckily, the bread had only just started to bake.

Let’s see if it turns out okay after having a bit of a “smoking.”

Update: The bread turned out rather well, if I do say so myself. There's a slight smokey flavor, but that also might be because the smoke is still in my nose.

The outside is nicely crispy, the inside soft. It's not as sweet as the brioche rolls I've eaten at bakeries, and I actually might add some sugar to it next time I make it.

Here is the recipe, but next time I will need to cut back on the proportions because the dough rose too much for my breadmaker:

Golden Brioche bread

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter (the original recipe called for 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water (the recipe called for warm water to proof the yeast, but I just added the water since I don't need to proof the yeast before adding it to the machine.)
4 eggs
4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast (the recipe called for one envelope active dry yeast. Hmm, I wonder if I added too much yeast?)

1. Scald milk in small saucepan. Remove from heat.

2. Add butter and melt it in the hot milk. This will also serve to cool the milk.

3. Add sugar, salt, and water. Mix.

4. I made sure the liquids were warm and not too hot, then I added it to the machine.

5. Beat eggs, add to machine.

6. Add flour

7. Add yeast.

I put the machine on the white bread or basic bread setting at dark crust setting, because my machine tends to have a very light crust when it's on the medium crust setting.

However, the recipe calls for only 50 minutes of baking at 400 degrees, and when I finished it in the oven, I baked it for only 40 minutes (it had baked a bit in the machine before the FIRE) and it was slightly overdone.

So next time, I think I will put the machine on a light baking setting and watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't get too brown.

Captain's Log, Supplemental

I just got this incredibly easy (but not very good for you) clam chowder from Cheryl Wyatt, who knows all about easy cooking when she’s on deadline (she’s got three kids).

Clam Chowder

1 can Campbell's Chunky New England clam chowder
1 can Campbell's Select New England clam chowder
1 can New England clam chowder (just the regular red & white label soup can)
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 quart half and half
1 stick butter

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Heat on high for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Camy here: I’d also add a can of minced clams and serve with some French bread from your local grocery store, toasted a few minutes in the oven.

Any easy-peasy recipes you can share with me? I’m always on the lookout for crockpot recipes or easy stuff I can throw together in half an hour. Because, really, who wants to cook when I could be writing? :)

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.18.2008

I am SO proud of Captain Caffeine! He bought a pork shoulder that was on sale and decided to make Mexican-style pulled pork in the crockpot.

Holy smokes, that stuff was good!!!!

So, not to be outdone, I made homemade flour tortillas (they're actually pretty easy) and we had a DELISH dinner the other night.



Captain Caffeine has graciously agreed to share his magic recipe (although I don't know if it's really magic since he only made it once).

4 pounds pork shoulder blade roast (pork butt)
12 ounces green salsa
1 packet taco seasoning
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 onion (optional)
2 jalapeno peppers (didn't have these, but next time I'll try)
1 beef bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup water

Dice onion and place in bottom of crock pot. Place pork on top of onions, sprinkle taco seasoning and cayenne pepper on top of pork. Add green salsa and beef bouillon mixture.

Turn crock pot on "high" setting for 6 hours, or until pork can be shredded by fork.

Serve with home made tortillas.

Update: Here's the tortilla recipe. I used this one from Texasrollingpins.com, but I also used the cooking instructions in this one from cooks.com as a guide when pan frying them. I used my cast iron skillet without oil to cook them.

Captain’s Log, Supplemental

So, I’m back from visiting my family in Hawaii. I was a very relaxing trip—I didn’t do much of anything, to be honest.

Saturday was Girls’ Day, a Japanese festival celebrating being a girl. :)

When I was a baby, Mom dressed me up in a special kimono for Girls’ Day. My grandmother also made chi chi dango, which is soft pink mochi dusted with cornstarch. Here’s a recipe.

This year, we invited my mom’s side of the family for dinner. Dad made huli-huli chicken—rotisserie cooked over an open fire of mesquite wood. It’s to die for—smoky, crispy, juicy. We tear off the wings and eat them as soon as Dad takes the chicken off the fire.

My grandma made shrimp tempura. Very yummy—her batter uses panko crumbs so it’s light and crispy

We also had sashimi—raw fish, usually tuna. It’s become kind of traditional to have sashimi at parties, at least in Hawaii.

Mom also made her famous Chinese chicken salad—lettuce, shredded boiled chicken, fried wonton strips, and her salad dressing. She also adds cilantro on top, which not everyone likes, but I think it’s fabulous.

Camy’s Mom’s Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing

3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup salad oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Whisk together and toss with salad.

For dessert, Mom made crème brulee, and we also bought chocolate cream pie and apple pie from Sunnyside, a bakery/diner in my hometown.

Sum up: I at a LOT. But it was great food!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental

Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
Renovating Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck
Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor

Japanese Good Eats

I made chawanmushi the other night for dinner. This is a fast, easy, very Japanese dish.

Chawanmushi (chow-on-moo-shee) is savory custard with meat and vegetables. It’s salty with a hint of sweet. When I was growing up, Mom made this every so often, especially if she had eggs she needed to get rid of.

It’s great because it’s so versatile. You can put literally anything you want in it. You also eat it with a spoon rather than chopsticks.

Here’s a more traditional recipe. I did the Camy-version—less labor-intensive and with ingredients that were easier to find:

6 eggs (I will often substitude egg whites for a couple of the whole eggs—two whites for every whole egg)
1 teaspoon dry sherry (I used Amontillado)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil, or olive oil, or vegetable oil
pinch of salt, or salt to taste (I like it more salty and tend to add more than a pinch)
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger (optional)
1 1/2 cup chicken broth (this volume can vary depending on if you like your chawanmushi “soupier” or drier. I like mine drier and use only 1 cup.)
1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (I used dried shiitake soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then sliced)
about 1 cup any type of cooked vegetable, provided it’s in small pieces (I’ve used combinations of peas, chopped carrots, corn, sliced green beans, chopped broccoli, chopped spinach. Frozen veggies work well for this, too. I cook my veggies in the microwave.)
about 1 to 1 1/2 cup any type of meat, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces (chicken, beef, pork, fish cake, shrimp, ham, crabmeat, fish, etc. I usually cook my meat in the microwave.)

You also need bowls for the chawanmushi. I have small stoneware bowls, but you can also use ramekins or any small, heavy bowl that can withstand the steaming.

Whisk eggs, sherry, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and ginger together.

Heat broth in microwave or on the stove until hot.

In a thin stream, slowly pour hot broth into egg mixture, whisking constantly.

In your bowls (I use five small bowls, but you can use whatever you have. Each bowl is one serving, typically), put equal amounts of vegetable, meat, and mushroom.

Divide the egg mixture among the bowls. It should fill the bowls about 2/3 to 3/4.

Cover each bowl with foil.

In a large pot, heat about 1/2 inch of water to boiling. Put the bowls in the pot. Cover and steam for anywhere from 8-17 minutes, depending on how large your bowls are.

The custard is done if you insert a metal spoon in the middle and clear broth comes out. I tend to like my custard a little drier, so I typically cook until it’s kind of dry on the top and only a little liquid, if any, comes out.

My pot only holds 2-3 bowls at a time, so I cook the custard in batches. I don’t suggest stacking the bowls (I’ve tried it), because the custard tends to cook unevenly.

Serve hot! We eat it with spoons. You can have it with rice on the side.

If you try it, e-mail me to let me know how you liked it!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental

Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
Tangerine by Marilynn Griffith
Chocolate Beach by Julie Carobini

MOCHI!!!

I grew up eating mochi. It’s a sweet, sticky treat, made in various ways, that I ate about as often as any other American kid would eat chocolate cake.

The easiest is mochi baked in a pan, which I always knew as butter mochi. It’s also called custard mochi.

The ladies at my church are FABULOUS cooks and bakers, and the church has “Happy Hour” once a month where women take their turns cooking or baking little treats for people to eat while they hang out after service. (I referenced Happy Hour in my second book in my Sushi Series! LOL)

My husband brought home something one of the ladies made for Happy Hour. It’s a new take on butter mochi—blueberry mochi! I searched online until I found this recipe at JustJennDesigns.com, which is altered from the original. However, I think this is the recipe that was used for the mochi I ate, which was terrific.

It’s also really easy to make. If you have a large supermarket, they sell mochiko flour in the Asian section. At the recipe website, you’ll see a picture of the ingredients, with the mochiko flour box.

If any of you make this recipe, come back and let me know how you liked it!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 12.16.2006

I’m participating in the “One Thousand Gifts” list from Christian Women Online. Click on the picture to find out more about it.

726. How exciting! My online friend and fellow ACFW member Betsy St. Amant contracted this year with Wild Rose Press for her debut Inspirational Romantic Suspense, Midnight Angel, and it’s available in ebook format as of yesterday! The print version, which will be available on Amazon.com, Alibris.com, etc. will be available in January.
727. I did NOT deluge myself with excess stress by standing in that horrific line at the post office. People just standing there looked extra mean and nasty. I forgot how busy the post office is on Fridays. I’ll try to go tomorrow instead.
728. I got my first issue of In Style magazine. It’s for research for my stories, since I’m no longer, well, in my twenties, and want to keep up with issues twenty-somethings are interested in, as well as popular culture.
729. I got the first half of a manuscript I’m critiquing for my friend, Sharon Hinck, called Restorer’s Son, which will be published by NavPress next year. It’s book 2 in a speculative fiction/real-world-fantasy series. Book 1, The Restorer, has an ordinary soccer mom as the heroine, thrust in an alternate world. Now isn’t that just way cool?
730. I had half of a very yummy Vietnamese sandwich yesterday
731. I got another book of quotes so hopefully I’ll have more than enough good fodder for what to write in cards.
732. I got more bubble wrap envelopes for my book giveaways
733. I worked a little more on my scarf
734. My dog’s cute “goofy sit.”
735. The way she breathes deep and almost snores when you scratch her head
736. My husband got another arm band holder for my iPod Nano
737. The honey and apple cider vinegar I drank settled my upset stomach
738. I got a nice Christmas card from several people I know at Zondervan
739. Captain Caffeine came home early to help me prepare the appetizer we’re bringing to his coworker’s Christmas party tonight.
740. The smell of bacon as it cooks (our appetizer is Rachel Ray’s Swiss cheese and bacon dip)
741. We figured out what to get our sister-in-law for Christmas
742. I just found out that my online friend and fellow ACFW member AMBER MILLER SOLD TO HEARTSONG PRESENTS!!!! It’s a historical romance set in Delaware! Congrats, Amber!
743. Man, Sharon’s fast! She already got back to me her crit on the first 15 chapters of my manuscript!
744. I had a great time at Captain Caffeine’s coworker’s Christmas party! Everyone was so nice and the host, Su, was wonderfully generous. She made one of the BEST lemon cheesecakes I’ve ever tasted in my life.
745. I didn’t overstuff myself at the Christmas party, either!
746. My partner and I (not Captain Caffeine, we were assigned partners) won the scavenger hunt! We each got a huge basket of Ghirardelli chocolate treats!
747. My Swiss and bacon dip was a hit at the party, too. People were asking for the recipe. If you're interested, here it is: Rachel Ray's Swiss and Bacon Dip
748. We addressed envelopes for the Christmas pictures we’re sending to our relatives (no friends, too expensive)
749. I made quick Christmas cards for the bigger pictures we’re sending to immediate family. They looked pretty good.
750. We packed the box of gifts for our family in Arizona so we can mail it

Blog book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway is THE GUY I'M NOT DATING by Trish Perry.
My Monday book giveaway is the Coffee Cup Bible Study books by Sandra Glahn.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for THE GUY I'M NOT DATING and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Movie! I finally saw The Devil Wears Prada yesterday with Shelley Bates. It was good! Good character arc.

Now I will confess that I have NOT read the book yet (Bad, Camy! Bad, Camy!). I have it on my TBR pile where it stares balefully at me. I just had too many other things to read.

But the storyline in the movie was great. There were only a few things that niggled me—like why she would want a job at a fashion magazine when she so disdains them all, and the cutie Christian-somethinglastname writer who suddenly (and rather uncharacteristically) turned into power-hungry-want-that-editing-job dork right after she sleeps with him.

And what was up with her boyfriend??? For one, he wasn't that handsome, I thought. For another, I think he could have been a little more sympathetic about her missing his birthday party. I mean, a birthday party? "Let me pout in front of the TV a bit because you missed such a momentous event."

What--did he expect her to just quit her job when it became too demanding and taking time away from him? Only rich people can afford to do that, honey.

And why were her friends so unsympathetic? They were nice enough when she was giving them free stuff like a coveted $1900 purse. But when her job started taking all her time, they almost made her lose her job by not giving her her phone. Did her friends and her boyfriend think jobs grow on trees? Come on, people.

And all Miranda Priestley's foibles were almost worth the FREE COUTURE!!! Let me just say that again: FREE COUTURE!!! All those fabulous clothes and shoes that didn’t cost Andrea a cent.

TMI:

Writing: I posted a book review of A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND over at the Fab Four Book Picks blog, another "Health and the Writer" post at WriterQuotes, and another synopsis tip at myStory Sensei blog.

I am desperate to get a sketch outline for my next manuscript. I don't know if I'm going to make the ACFW conference Early Bird deadline. Yikes!

Diet: I did okay considering I went out to eat yesterday with Shelley. Had a salad and soup—both terrific—at an Italian restaurant. But I didn't exercise—my surgery knee was bothering me after the movie, so I iced it down instead.

I roasted a chicken today since I had time, and I can't believe I haven't done this more often. Whole chicken is always so cheap and roasting is incredibly easy.

I used my mom's recipe for stuffing:

Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water.
Mince and sauté onions, garlic, celery, and the gizzards in butter.
Mince the mushrooms.
Tear 2-3 pieces of bread into small pieces.
Toss everything. If it's too dry, add some of the mushroom water.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff yer bird.

The chicken juices (read: fat) make the stuffing melt in your mouth, and the stuffing gives flavor to the meat around it.

I rubbed salt, pepper, and paprika on the chicken and roasted it breast side down. I didn't use a rack, and MAN the breast turned out really juicy. I wedged the chicken up with four potatoes (they turned out really good, too).

I didn't even have to baste it. I seared it at 450o for 10 minutes, basted once with butter, and then left it at 350o for 2 hours (4 pound chicken).

SO EASY! SO CHEAP! I should do this more often, since I have the time to roast it.Captain's Log, Stardate 08.29.2006

Blog book giveaway:

My husband has threatened to chuck my books if I don't get rid of some of them, so every Monday and Thursday, I list either a new or gently used book to give away.

The winner of GEORGIA ON HER MIND by Rachel Hauck is:
Jennifer Tiszai
Congratulations!

To enter to win today’s book (blurb below), leave a comment on this blog post, giving your name and saying you want to enter.

Please leave an e-mail address or website where I can contact you (use this format with the brackets: you [at] yourmail.com).

International readers are welcome to enter!

You have a week to comment--I'll pick a name out of a hat on Monday, August 28st. (BTW, you can post a comment and NOT enter, too.)

MURDER, MAYHEM, AND A FINE MAN by Claudia Mair Burney. I’ll draw the winner on Thursday.

EMILY EVER AFTER by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
(This book is BRAND NEW! I got this copy a few weeks ago, but I already had a copy on e-book so now one of you lucky readers get it instead!)

A quirky and quick-witted girl moves to Manhattan and holds on for dear life.

Emily Hinton needs out. She comes from a small town in California where the church handbell choir concert passes for a decent way to spend a Saturday and she’s known all the boys since kindergarten. She dreams of sophisticated people, love, and Louis Vuitton. When she lands a job at the world-famous publishing house Morrow & Sons in New York, she knows that she is finally on her way. She packs her bags, says good-bye, and sets out for Manhattan, where she will fit in, even if it kills her.

In spite of her naïveté, she quickly becomes friends with the girls at work and begins to learn a thing or two about how things are done in Manhattan. She soon attracts the attention of the handsome Bennett and is swept into a whirlwind romance, but an overnight visit to his parents’ home at Thanksgiving and his seemingly idle flirtations with one of her colleagues give her second thoughts about what Bennett really wants. Her uncertainty about her feelings escalates when one of the hometown boys she left behind reappears in her life. Emily’s days at the office are also becoming complicated: an ambitious editor is breaking all the rules to publish a controversial book that demeans everything she believes in. Will she stand up for what she knows is right and risk losing it all?

Balancing her passion for the glamour of New York City with her determination to live by her morals turns out to be much more difficult than Emily ever imagined. Her roundabout quest for happiness will endear her to anyone who has ever dreamed of making it big, and faced more than a few pitfalls along the way.

TMI:

Diet: Last night we had cheese fondue! I used this recipe, and it was really good. We had it with broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and a little bit of bread--one dinner roll toasted and cut into cubes because I didn't have any sandwich bread in the house. It was great to eat so much veggies.

I am still sore from my Friday Power Yoga but hopefully today (I'm typing this a little after midnight on Monday) I'll get back into my workout schedule despite the aching.

I've been drinking a lot of water this weekend and now my butt is bloated and squishy.

Mental health: So Sharon Hinck has got me into card-making. I TOTALLY LOVE THIS! It's not as mentally engaging or as time-consuming as scrapbooking because it's only a card, and I'm only making one or two of them (although I really need to get going on my scrapbook, I'm so behind it's not even funny).

I spent an hour or two making a few cards Sunday night and it was so relaxing! Don't know why. But I feel like I accomplished something, and I feel good.

Writing: I posted another synopsis-trimming tip on my Story Sensei blog. I also posted a review of GEORGIA ON HER MIND by Rachel Hauck on our Fab Four Book Picks blog.

Diet and writing: I also posted another “Health and the Writer” article over at WriterQuotes today.Captain’s Log, Stardate 08.21.2006

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.15.2006

Book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway (A HERO FOR DRY CREEK) is here.
Randy Ingermanson's guest blog and the Fiction 101 CD giveaway is here.
You can still enter both of them. Just post a comment on those blog posts.
On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for HERO FOR DRY CREEK and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.

I also have a secret guest blogger on Thursday and a great book giveaway!

More thoughts on food: Okay, I just have to share this recipe with you guys. I got this from Sam Choy's cookbook, but I altered it to be low-fat.

Sam Choy makes this coconut milk and spinach sauce that he serves with macadamia-nut crusted fish. Yummy, right? And a billion calories.

We got sole filets from Costco, about 1.5 pounds of it. It's a bit much for just me and my husband, but it was cheap. Plus fish is good for you, right?

I marinated the fish in an olive oil, salt, ginger, green onion and cilantro marinade for about 30 minutes, but you don't have to do that. I only did it for a little extra flavor. Then I pan-fried the fish in a little of the oil from the marinade.

I bought light coconut milk, which is only 45 calories for every 2 ounces. I sautéed diced onions in butter, added 2 cups of chopped spinach (I could've used frozen spinach, too), then added 1.5 cups of skim milk and let it simmer about 15 minutes to reduce slightly (If I'd had evaporated skim milk, I would have used that instead). Then I added one can of light coconut milk and heated it through. Salted and peppered to taste.

I made rice--a combo of white rice and brown rice for fiber. I put a cup of rice on a plate, topped it with a few fish filets, and drizzled the coconut milk/spinach sauce over it.

Doesn't that sound yummy? And it was somewhat healthy, too.

Bible in 90 Days: Day 38. The Psalms are still wonderful. Today I read Robin's favorite, Psalm 91. Lord, I pray for Robin's family and pray they find favor.

Writing: I got a little writing done yesterday, despite the fact it was the Genesis postmark deadline. I didn't have as many last-minute emails as I thought I would.

Today, I've been fighting a few fires and hope to get some more stuff done tonight. It's nice because I can stay up late since I don't have PT tomorrow. I stayed up too late last night and almost couldn't roll out of bed this morning.

Diet: Yesterday I went for a walk, but for dinner I had too much fish, and then I lost control! I ate half a bag of veggie chips! I think I ended at close to 2200!! Waaaaaaaa...

But, as Heather reminded me, I just need to get back on my diet today.

Okay, good news--I did 30 minutes on the bike at PT and worked extra hard on my exercises in the gym. Bad news--I ate three pieces of French bread for dinner and ended the day at about 2100. Man I have no self-control! And after yesterday was so bad! I totally suck!

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.13.2006

Normally I do a "gently used" book giveaway every Monday and Thursday, but today I'm excited to have Randy Ingermanson write a guest blogger post for me!

I'm also giving away a copy of Randy's new MP3-CD Fiction 101! (The sound of cheers from the roaring crowd) This is a fabulous manual and audio course for beginning writers.

If you want to enter to win it, you have a week to post a comment on this blog post, giving your name and saying you want to enter. If you post anonymously or if your email address isn’t on your blogger profile, please leave an email address or website where I can contact you. I'll pick a name out of a hat next week Monday.

(BTW, you can post a comment and NOT enter, too.)

Exclusively for my newsletter subscribers: I am also giving away a CD of Randy's Snowflake Method. Subscribe to my YahooGroup newsletter Camys_Loft and go to message #18 to find out how to enter the Snowflake drawing.

The winner of SAVANNAH FROM SAVANNAH is:
Dot Harper
Congratulations!

You can still enter the drawing for A HERO FOR DRY CREEK here. I’ll draw the winner on Thursday.

Without further ado, here's Randy:

Why Do You Write?

Whenever I teach a writing conferences, I ask novelists a simple question: Why do you write fiction?

Fact is, writers write fiction for all kinds of reasons. We want to teach. We want to uplift. We want to comfort. We want to persuade. We want to get a little free therapy by stripping our souls buck naked in public. We want to entertain.

All good and excellent reasons. I probably write for all these reasons. Or maybe I'm just a weirdo who can't shut up. Yeah, that's probably it.

When I ask writers this question, I get back all of the above as answers, and usually a few more.

Then I ask another question: Why do you READ fiction?

The answers this time are a lot fewer in number. "I read to escape." or "I read to have fun." or "I read to be entertained." Those are usually the first responses, and they all amount to pretty much the same thing.

Some of us have other reasons for reading: We read to learn stuff. We read to be uplifted. We read to be comforted. We read to feel superior to that truly sick person who's stripping her soul buck naked in public.

I've never yet met anyone who said that they read fiction in order to be persuaded. There just isn't anybody out there who says, "Boy, I really want to go read some fiction that'll persuade me to change my religion." Or, "Gosh, I really want to change my political party today--guess I'll go find a novel that'll convince me to switch."

Doesn't happen. Nobody on the face of the earth reads fiction to be persuaded. And yet that motive tends to be high on the list of fiction writers. Christian fiction writers are alleged to have this as their main motive or even their only motive. Christian novelists are said to be "preachy." I know, because I read the reviews of Christian fiction in Publishers Weekly, and at least half of them start out like this: "Unlike all other Christian novels, this one here by Joe Christian isn't preachy at all. Nice change! What a relief! This one's actually good! Etc., etc." There's a certain irony in reading this week after week after week which I don't have time to comment on.

I have no doubt that plenty of Christian novels are preachy. I've read those that are and those that aren't. If you're looking for preachy fiction, you'll find it in Christian fiction. But hey, if you want to see the epitome of preachy fiction, check out ATLAS SHRUGGED, by Ayn Rand. The thing is 1000 pages long, and it's essentially one long sermon on why greed is good. What it boils down to is that greedy people get things done. You can say it in a couple sentences and make your point. Ms. Rand takes a kilopage to get the thing said, and the last hundred pages or so is one long MONOLOGUE on the topic of why greed is good. No kidding, a hundred pages of puke-inducing, yawn-inspiring, egg-sucking preachologue. But I digress.

You can agree or disagree with Ms. Rand, and I don't really care which you do. But one thing ya gotta admit: The lady knows how to preach. And preach. And preach. Gack!

People who agree with Ayn Rand about the greed thing tend to believe that ATLAS SHRUGGED is a brilliant piece of literature. Whereas people who don't agree with her tend to chuck the thing in the trash along about page 20, because, let's be honest here, the thing is badly written.

I've got a point here, and it's really simple. You can write for all manner of reasons, good, bad, ugly, beautiful, profound, insipid, whatever. But #1 on your list of reasons for writing had better be this one:

"I write to entertain my reader."

If you aren't writing to entertain your reader, (this is really profound), your reader will not be entertained. Shocking, I know, but it's true. These days, being unentertaining means death by a thousand remainders.

Entertain, entertain, ENTERTAIN!

If you entertain your reader, then they'll happily learn from you, be comforted by you, and be uplifted by you. They'll even put up with waddling through a certain amount of your private therapy sessions, as long as it's FUN. (And it helps to be shocking, if you happen to be good at it.)

But don't be boring. Be dull, be dead.

You can EVEN (and here is the vile truth) write to persuade if you're entertaining enough. It can be done, by those with a light touch.

So be entertaining, at all costs.

Of course, that raises the question of what the heck it means to be entertaining. The short answer is that entertaining fiction creates in the reader a Powerful Emotional Experience. (I was going to trademark this little phrase, which I use in all my teaching, until I realized that it had a very unfortunate three-letter acronym.)

Give your reader a Powerful Emotional Experience, and you will be entertaining as all get out, and you'll get published and get famous and win awards and you'll be on with Letterman and Leno and Oprah and you might even . . . you might EVEN get on Camy's blog. But I make no promises.

And how do you do that Powerful Emotional Experience thing? That's complicated, and I'm out of time. Camy said I had to mention my new course Fiction 101 in this blog, so I'll just say this: Every class I've ever taught is about how to create a Powerful Emotional Experience in your reader. And Fiction 101 pretty much sums up everything I've ever taught.

[Camy here: Well, I had to have him mention Fiction 101 since I'm giving it away, yes?]

But I'll give you the main idea, because I'd be a pretty pathetic excuse for a weasel if I left you hanging here: If you want to give your reader a Powerful Emotional Experience, you need to persuade your reader that she IS the character she's reading about. You've got to zip open the skin of your character and slide your reader inside. You've got to do that as powerfully, as emotionally, and as experientially as you can.

That's it. It's all pretty simple.

Now go do it.

Randy

PS: Just a quick reminder about Fiction 101, which I released last Thursday. I'm going to place my order for CDs on Monday, Feb. 13 at noon California time.

If you order Fiction 101 before then, you'll get a 40% discount. A large number of you have already ordered (thank you), but I wanted to remind the rest of you that if you're wanting to get it, now is the time!

For all the juicy details, check out
this link on Fiction 101.

Randy Ingermanson
Publisher, Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine
http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com

Camy here:
ROFL! Thanks, Randy! I should have you guest blog more often.

ACFW Genesis contest: If you haven't sent in your entry, tomorrow is the postmark deadline!

Bible in 90 Days: Day 36. I love the psalms. There's so much joy and emotion. It's also full of God's promises. I think it's deliberately positioned after the book of Job, which affirms God's sovereignty, to show God's unfailing love as well.

Writing: I just realized that the Maass Seminar is this coming weekend. I need to get cracking on my manuscript so I have something to bring to it.

Diet: We had fondue last night! Talk about fun. Yummy Gruyere cheese with broccoli, cauliflower and French bread. I ate very little bread because the veggies really filled me up. At the very most, it was an 800 calorie meal, but I think it was less.

And so easy! Bring 4 ounces white wine to a boil in a saucier, drop in 8 ounces cubed or shredded cheese, whisk until melted, then add a mixture of 4 teaspoons cornstarch in a couple tablespoons of wine, to help the fondue thicken and integrate (otherwise the cheese kind of swirls around in the wine). We also whisked in some pepper and nutmeg. I used Chardonnay, but I think next time I'll use a drier wine--the fondue was a little too sweet for my taste.

We set the saucier on a hot plate on the table, microwaved the veggies to cook them, and dug in. My husband and I had a wonderfully romantic dinner, just the two of us talking and enjoying the food.

Today--I went to PT and worked up a sweat, and I hope I'll go walking later today, too. I had a tuna salad sandwich (500) for lunch and chai tea (100).