Jenyfer Matthews

Since I can’t really get any writing done when the kids are home raising a ruckus, I decided to make a quilt. My son has been asking me for a new one so I thought now was as good a time as any to make one for him. I had planned to do a blue and yellow pinwheel quilt. I still liked the colors but since I made a double pin wheel for him at Christmas, I decided to try something a little different. This is what I made, from a pattern in Stack a New Deck by Karla Alexander:

Because it sort of reminds me of space and the rings around planets, I was thinking I would quilt it with star shapes. We’ll see how that goes!

My son’s response when he saw it? “I like it, but why couldn’t you have made me one with Ben 10?”

Though author Terry Odell claims to have fallen into writing by accident while writing fan fiction for the Highlander TV series, she’s certainly been taking her work seriously ever since! Terry has numerous romance short stories published by The Wild Rose Press in addition to three romantic suspense novels from Cerridwen Press. Hidden Fire, released May 8th, is a sequel to Finding Sarah.

If writing wasn’t enough, Terry’s also been busy entering contests. Finding Sarah is a second place winner of The Lories, Published Division, Romantic Suspense. What’s in a Name? is a finalist in the prestigious Daphne du Maurier contest, sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA. It was also a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest.

When Danger Calls, is scheduled for release December 2008 from Five Star Expressions.

Terry makes her home in Orlando, Florida. To find out more about Terry visit her website her blog or her Redroom page.

Hidden Fire
Blurb

Returning from a stint as part of a task force on violent crime, Randy Detweiler is eager to reunite with Sarah Tucker in Pine Hills, but she’s having second thoughts about their relationship. Can she deal with a cop who gets called away at a moment’s notice, especially one who won’t talk about his job?

Their reunion is cut short when a body is discovered and rumors fly that it’s the work of a serial killer. To make matters worse, the Town Council might disband their police department, and Randy’s under added pressure to solve the murder before they take action. Forced to work under the radar, Randy struggles to balance work with a shaky relationship.

Sarah can’t cope with apparently meaning less to Randy than his job. Should she force him to choose between his job and the us she envisions for the two of them? All bets are off when Sarah herself becomes a suspect in Randy’s case. Before long, it’s more than their relationship that’s in danger.

From Romance Reviews Today:
HIDDEN FIRE is a fantastic story full of suspense and the delightful ups and downs of relationship negotiations. Readers will find Terry Odell’s book a wonderful escape from the daily grind of life. I found the characters’ insecurities and strengths to be loveably human. I give this book thumbs up for bathtub or beach reading.

When Randy and Sarah Return

True sequels featuring the same hero and heroine aren’t the norm in romance. I thought I’d better check with Randy and Sarah about appearing together again.

“Come in, Sarah,” I say, covering the mouthpiece of the phone with my hand. I motion her to the chairs opposite my desk. “I’ll be with you in a jiffy.”

She smiles, and I detect a hint of nervousness. She takes a seat in the chair closer to the wall, adjusts the collar of her pale blue blouse, then twists the strap of her shoulder bag.

I cut my call short, hang up and stack the array of papers on my desk into a semblance of order, finding a fresh notepad and pen. “Sorry, Sarah. Can I get you something while we wait for Randy? Coffee? Chamomile tea?”

She shakes her head and does more strap-twisting. “I’m fine. I hope this won’t take too long, though. Jennifer has to leave the shop by four today.” She checks her watch.

“Randy should be here shortly. He’s on duty today, right? I’m sure it’s hard for him to get away sometimes.”

Sarah lowers her gaze. “Yes.” Her voice is barely a whisper, but I hear a touch of resentment. Maybe more than a touch. I jot “Conflict” on my notepad, and underneath I write, “Job issues.”

Moments later, Sarah checks her watch again. She frowns. Before the silence becomes uncomfortable, there’s a knock on the door, which opens immediately. Randy Detweiler ambles in, all six-feet-six of him. Unlike Sarah, there’s nothing hesitant about the way he extends his hand, first to me, then to Sarah. He lowers himself into the empty chair. I take him in, still glad I didn’t go with the stereotype ‘drop dead gorgeous’ hero. Tall, lanky, with his hawk-beak nose and the scar through his eyebrow, he’s comfortable with himself as a man, not as a sex object. All cop, all business.

Sarah’s nervousness hasn’t abated. She’s on the pale side, her freckles standing out across her nose and cheeks. I wonder if it’s too soon after the ordeal I put her through to hit her with my new proposal. Too late for that, and she did agree to the meeting, so there’s still hope. However, she’s leaning back in her chair, away from both me and Randy. This might be a harder sell than I thought.

The initial pleasantries dispensed with, I bend forward, resting my hands on my desk. “No point in beating around the bush,” I say. “How do you two feel about a sequel to Finding Sarah?”

“Sounds good to me,” Randy says. He glances in Sarah’s direction. She avoids his eyes. Then he shoves a lock of hair away from his face. “She won’t be kidnapped in this book, will she? I can understand her reluctance to participate if she’s going to have to go through so much trauma again.”

It’s a book. Only trouble is interesting. I don’t voice my thoughts, however. “Of course not. Besides, readers wouldn’t tolerate using the same device in two books.”

“It’s not that.” Sarah twists her purse strap some more. I wonder if I noticed the habit in her earlier interviews or if it’s something she’s picked up from me. “I mean, the first book was a romance, so we’ve already done the basics. First meet, first kiss, the sex, that awful black moment and then we were together. Then, Starting Over was a spinoff with Colleen McDonald’s story. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work in romance novels? Wouldn’t another book featuring me and Randy break the rules?”

I try not to grimace. “First of all, they’re not rules. It’s reader expectation. And I think I’ve figured a way around it. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“You’re not going to give me amnesia or anything, are you?” Sarah asks. “Too cliché, I think.”

I chuckle. “No, nothing like that. But what do you think about a little separation?”

“How long?” Randy says immediately. His brown eyes with those enticing hazel flecks narrow.

“Not long,” I reply. “Six weeks. I thought you might like some Violent Crimes Task Force training. But it means you’ll have to go to San Francisco.”

Sarah chews her lip and twirls a strand of her hair. She’s let it grow out some. It seems brighter, more chestnut. Business must be picking up for her boutique. After a moment, she says, “That’s a distinct possibility.”

Randy doesn’t look as positive. “Six weeks. All in San Francisco?”

“Afraid so,” I say. “But think of the reunion scene. Could be intense. I thought we’d open the book with it.”

He nods, obviously suppressing a smile. “I could deal with that.” His cell rings, and he gives me an apologetic glance before he checks the display. “Sorry, I’ll have to take this call. It’s my Chief.”

“Not a problem,” I say. “I think we’ve covered the important points. I’ll be in touch when it’s time for our next interview.”

“It’s a plan.” He lifts the phone to his ear. “Detweiler.” He exits, still talking on the phone, every inch the cop.

Sarah’s lips compress to a thin line.

This could be perfect.

Sarah doesn’t get up. “This might be a bad idea,” she says. “Did you see what just happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s in the middle of a meeting. He gets a call and disappears. It’s like I’m not even in the room. Not like we might have dinner plans. Not like I’m taking off from my job, too. And I can guarantee that when we see each other, he’ll say it was nothing.”

“Maybe I can fix that,” I say.

Her eyes light up, glistening their stone-blue color, the color that Randy found so compelling when he met her. “You can?” She sits up straighter, her hands free of the purse strap at last. “But nothing obvious, right? He’d know if he’s being manipulated.”

“Don’t worry about a thing. Of course, because your relationship was established in the previous book, there will be more emphasis on the mystery this time.”

“That would be great. I’ve always thought that I could be helpful, if only Randy would see me as a partner. Not a cop, but an equal. He still has that white knight thing you gave him in Finding Sarah.”

I jot more notes. “Point taken. But you have to agree that your character has to develop slowly. It’s commercial fiction. I’m going to have to throw stuff at the two of you.” Little does she know what.

“Can I take care of myself? Not get stuck somewhere waiting for Randy to come to the rescue?”

“No trouble at all, but I can’t make you a kick-ass heroine right off the bat. Readers won’t buy it.”

“I have no desire to be kick-ass. I’m no wimp, but I’m happy being Sarah, a boutique owner.”

“You proved that before. You know my style. Things start out with seemingly solvable situations, but they keep escalating. And since it’s categorized as a romance, you know you’ll both be alive and together at the end.” I wink. “But I have a few surprises for Randy.”

We exchange conspiratorial smiles. Sarah rises. “Thanks, Terry. I’ll look forward to the first draft.”

I don’t tell her it’s already written.

Read Ch.1 here!

My daughter’s school put on a production of Grease last night with their fifth and sixth graders (third and fourth singing in the chorus) I think it’s going around because another local school did it earlier in the year. I was wondering how they would handle the story since not only is the original a little long for a school play, but many of the plot points are a bit mature for this age group.

It was interesting to see how they boiled Grease down to a few pivotal scenes. Though I’m not sure that the story made any sense to anyone who hadn’t already seen the original movie!

Lyrics were changed too. Have you ever really listened to the lyrics to Greased Lightning?

Well this car is automatic, it’s systematic, it’s hydromatic
Why it’s greased lightnin’!

We’ll get some overhead lifters, and four barrel quads, oh yeah
Keep talkin’, whoah keep talkin’
Fuel injection cut off, and chrome plated rods, oh yeah
I’ll get the money, I’ll see you get the money
With a four-speed on the floor, they’ll be waitin’ at the door
You know that ain’t shit when we’ll be gettin’ lots of tit in greased lightnin’

Chorus:

Go, greased lightnin’, you’re burnin’ up the quarter mile
Greased lightnin’, go greased lightnin’
Go, greased lightnin’, you’re coastin’ through the heat lap trials
Greased lightnin’, go greased lightnin’
You are supreme, the chicks’ll cream for greased lightnin’

We’ll get some purple French tail lights and thirty-inch fins, oh yeah
A palomino dashboard and duel muffler twins, oh yeah
With new pistons, plugs, and shocks, I can get off my rocks
You know that I ain’t braggin’, she’s a real pussy wagon – greased lightnin’

“Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity” was changed to “goddess of purity” and Greased Lighting would make “the chicks scream”. Little did their music teacher know that for most of last week, before I corrected her, my daughter was singing “born to hand job, baby!”

When my daughter came home singing some of these songs, I joined in. She was astonished to find out that Grease was a real movie. And the thing is, now she wants to see it. I wouldn’t mind watching it again myself, but I’m not sure that I’m ready to let her see it. I was her age when the movie came out and in fact I saw it many, many times. Most of the more adult themes just went right over my head, but kids are more savvy today. Not sure I want to explain what a “pussy wagon” is, or why Danny is trying to grope Sandy at the drive-in or what Rizzo’s problem is.

(Or why there are a bunch of near-40 year olds in high school)

I’m not sure what age would be a good age to see that movie for the first time. Assuming she doesn’t see it somewhere else first and I get to choose, her brother is still two and 1/2 years younger than she is and what she does, he does. From that perspective, twenty sounds like a good age

I’m probably over-reacting. After seeing some of the music videos that Disney shows between their programs, Grease seems positively tame…

But it must have been easier to be a parent in the 1970s. One of my first adult albums given to me by my mother was the soundtrack to Hair! Talk about inappropriate lyrics!

And look at me today

Don’t forget to stop by over the weekend. Author Terry Odell will be here talking to two of her characters about doing their sequel, Hidden Fire. It’s getting great reviews, and Terry has the first chapter on her website. Win win

Sarah over at Smart Bitches wrote an article for Tango magazine with her suggestions for great summer reading. As if that wasn’t temptation enough, she then posted a discussion about the best ways to buy books for less. How was I supposed to resist going shopping?

I went to my local used book store first. Not only did I have a stack of books to trade in, the selection at the UBS is better than at the full price store – and it’s closer besides. I picked up five new-to-me books. How thrilled was I to find a copy of Santa Baby which features a story by Jennifer Crusie? Think I can manage to save that one for the holidays?

When I got home, I surfed over to ebookwise.com to have a look around. Not surprisingly, I found another half dozen books to purchase there including Lord of Scoundrels and Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase. My ebookwise reader will still talk to its home planet, fortunately, even though it refuses to speak directly to my computer.

So between all these new books and Gone With the Wind, I should be set for the next several months! (What? Gone With the Wind is LONG) I was especially pleased to find a copy of Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes at the UBS. My study guide for my upcoming trip to Italy

What are you reading these days? Any recommendations for me?

I can strike duct tape off my shopping list for when I’m back in the US this summer. My husband was bustling around preparing for his departure yesterday when he decided that some duct tape would come in handy so he went out and found some. It cost about $5 for a good sized roll – seems a little expensive to me, but then again it’s Italian duct tape.

And on the topic of Italy, I have some exciting news. I’ll be attending the Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy in September! My very first writer’s conference!! The fact that it is being held in southern Italy had nothing to do with my decision to attend, really (okay, a little!) I admit to being hesitant at first – going alone to a conference where I don’t know anyone? The expense? Will anyone take me seriously? And then I thought Italy and decided that whatever my other reservations were, I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass me by.

I already have my ticket in hand and have paid my conference registration. Once I get my hotel reservations I’ll be all set. The only thing left is deciding what to pack and preparing a pitch for when I talk to agents and editors. I’m looking forward to the workshops and meeting other writers, but the pitch? It’s been a while since I’ve had a job interview and the pitch to me seems like a job interview and public speaking rolled into one. I’m nervous already and it’s still June!

Any veteran conference attendees out there willing to share secrets to success?

And don’t forget to stop by and say hello if you’re in the neighborhood in September!

There are only four days left until school ends. And it won’t be long until we begin our marathon annual “vacation”. I put that in quotes because really, would any truly relaxing vacation start with a direct flight from Cairo to New York with two small children competing for your attention the entire twelve hours (give or take)? We leave Cairo at noon so chances are they will be awake the whole time.

Though it will be a few weeks left until I take off, my husband is leaving on his travels tomorrow. I know that I still have roughly three weeks here at home, but having his luggage out in the bedroom is creeping into my subconscious and giving me a sense of urgency about our own departure. I first noticed it yesterday when I was at the grocery store. I’ve already slipped into grocery management mode. Will we be able to eat this before we leave? is the basic question I ask myself as I look at my list and peruse the store shelves.

I once had a friend who would clean out her kitchen before she left on her summer vacation and give me all of the things she didn’t get to. And I don’t just mean a couple of eggs and chunks of cheese. She cleaned out everything. She’d give me bags of flour that looked as if they had had a few tablespoons removed, boxes of tea bags, freshly opened boxes of cereal – as well as eggs and cheese and veggies. She was worried about attracting bugs while they were away. I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I could never understand why it was that she had purchased and opened a box of cereal for one bowl when she knew she was leaving. WHY??

You might guess that I’m on the other extreme. I won’t buy cereal the last week we are in town if I don’t think we’ll be able to eat it all. I will make cheese sauce with our remaining chunks of cheese and stick it in the freezer for easy mac-n-cheese when we return. I have even gone so far as to use up eggs making pancakes and then freezing those. My freezer is often stuffed when we leave, but it’s really nice to come back to some brainless meal options when you’re tired and jet-lagged.

As for the other stuff, tea bags live in sealed canisters and my flour is in a canister in the fridge. Let any bugs that creep in try to get into the canned goods…

This year my husband will be returning to Cairo and to work two weeks after I leave, so actually the need to micro-manage the groceries isn’t as urgent. Hmmm…I guess I can relax and get that cereal after all!

Award-winning author Amy Corwin is an insatiable reader and a compulsive writer. She joined the Romance Writers of America at its inception and began writing for publication six years ago. Amy’s books have received numerous writing awards including first place in the 2006 Dixie First Chapter and first place in the 2003 Golden Rose contests. Her first historical novel, SMUGGLED ROSE, was published by Cerridwen Press in 2007 and received excellent reviews, including a 4-star review by “The Romantic Times”. Her second book, a historical romantic mystery, I BID ONE AMERICAN, was published by The Wild Rose Press in May 2008, and has garnered excellent reviews, including a perfect score of 5 books from Long and Short Reviews. She is currently working on her next historical romantic mystery featuring the Regency “detective” agency: Second Sons, Discreet Inquires.

Smuggled Rose

A cynical earl and a rose smuggler are an unlikely pair, particularly when the smuggler is a supposedly fallen woman the earl owes for saving his feckless brother’s life.

Nonetheless, Michael, the earl of Ramsgate, is determined to repay his family’s debt by presenting Margaret at Court — an action calculated to repair even the worst reputation. But Margaret has been burned before and is suspicious that Michael’s intentions aren’t entirely honorable…despite the certainty in her heart that she can trust him.

As the tension between them flares and Michael’s feelings for Margaret strain his self-control, an old enemy bent on revenge returns to challenge Michael’s iron determination…and threatens to take Margaret away from him forever.

* * * * *

Amy’s Tips for Good Characterization

There are hundreds of ways characterization can go wrong. I can’t cover everything, but here are a few tips garnered from editing my own and others’ manuscripts.

Let’s start with some good news. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is terminal. You can fix anything. You would be amazed at what a difference it makes to add a single sentence revealing a character’s motivations. Sometimes, that’s all that is necessary.

Since this is such a huge subject, I’m only going to talk about one major complaint: “I can’t get into or sympathize with your characters”

COMMON MISTAKES
• You didn’t reveal the character’s motivation
• Your first introduction to the character is through the eyes (POV) of another character
• You introduce the character at a bad moment
• Dominance

HOW TO FIX THEM

• You didn’t reveal the character’s motivation

If the reader doesn’t know the character’s goal and motivation, they will not bond with the character. The reader must feel she understands the character so she can be “one with the heroine.” Without that feeling, the reader may drop the book.

Problem: You want to hide motivation to surprise the reader later.

That’s fine, but you must give the heroine a substitute goal and motivation. And don’t assume her goal/motivation should be obvious to the reader by the character’s actions.

If the reader doesn’t understand what is initially driving the character to do what she is doing, then you’ve created the classic “unsympathetic” character that makes the editor complain, “I couldn’t get into your character”.

So how do you reveal goals and yet keep the surprise?

You don’t have to reveal the character’s entire motivation/goals/conflict on page one. You do need to reveal the character’s initial goal, some motivation, and a bit of conflict. Her starter goal isn’t necessarily her main goal.

Let’s say your heroine needs to find her sister’s murder and her motivation is to save her brother, accused of the murder. That’s the major goal/motivation for her. But, what if you don’t want the reader to know that in the beginning?

Reveal a starter goal by defining what she’s after now. This is a technique used a lot in suspense novels where the author wants to keep some mystery around the heroine. The starter goal allows the author to reveal a goal/motivation that is important enough to establish the reader’s bond with the heroine.

Example: In scene one, the heroine is talking to a private investigator. She’s trying to get his help to investigate a theft. Her motivation: she believes she doesn’t know how to investigate on her own, and the theft was a vase that had been in her family for years. So her initial, starter goal is to enlist this man’s assistance to find a thief. That’s the goal and motivation you need to make clear on page one to hook the reader.

Then you can slowly reveal the theft occurred at the time of the murder, and she believes the two are related. And further, if she can find the thief, she can prove her brother is innocent. And she can irritate/conflict with the detective because she did not reveal all of this when she hired him.

One last thing: you should do this for your secondary characters, too, or creating stock or cardboard secondary characters. Every character has to have motivation and goals, even if the goal is only a paycheck. And the more important those motivations/goals are to the character, the more depth your characters will have.

• Your first introduction to the character is through the eyes or POV of another character

This may seem odd or counter-intuitive. For this example, let’s say the book is a romance and your target audience is mostly women. You’ve introduced the hero and you’re in his POV when you introduce him to the heroine. Sometimes this can work, but it almost never works if your heroine is gorgeous, he sees her without any flaws, and he lusts after her immediately.

Here is the problem. Most readers can’t relate to perfection. And if they meet the heroine only from the hero’s perspective of her as the “pink of perfection,” how can the reader relate? The heroine is a beautiful, perfect woman like a plastic Barbie doll with no soul.

That’s why so many romances start in the heroine’s POV, so the reader can understand her fears, anxieties, and flaws. The reader can bond with her before discovering the woman is gorgeous. Or, the author can introduce the hero and heroine separately so the reader bonds with both characters before the two meet.

My preferred method is simpler: don’t make the heroine (or hero) completely perfect. Give your characters flaws, both mental and physical. Flaws make humans more human, real, and therefore more sympathetic.

When the hero first sees the heroine, he should see some flaw in addition to her beauty. And give him a flaw, too. Make her notice a trait she really dislikes in the hero, but even though she sees it, she’s still unable to resist her attraction to him…

Jennifer Crusie uses this method frequently and it works for her, e.g. “Welcome to Temptation”.
If you can’t or won’t add flaws, introduce the characters separately. Show the hero’s starter goals and motivation. Introduce your heroine and do the same. THEN introduce the two of them to each other after the reader already knows them and sympathizes with them.

• You introduce the character at a bad moment

Books always start at crises or changing point. However, avoid portraying your hero or heroine acting out-of-control. Do not make the mistake of thinking that showing your heroine spitting-tacks angry portrays her as a feisty woman who sticks up for herself.

It simply portrays her as an out-of-control bitch. The same is true for the hero.

You want both of them to be the ones in control while those all around are losing their grip. And then, you can gradually make your hero and heroine lose it, too—because by then, your reader will be “one with the heroine.” The reader will feel the agony of the heroine’s slow descent into the maelstrom of your novel.

Think of it this way: what is your reaction when you are in public and stumble upon a scene where a woman is yelling at another person? Do you like the woman or does it make you uncomfortable and wish the woman would get a grip?

Same problem.

You can, however, get away with it if you are Jennifer Crusie and are showing the heroine has a fabulous reason for being angry, and she’s got a sense of humor and is funny. But I have never read a Crusie where the heroine is angry from sentence one. The heroine tries to control it—her action sucks the reader in—and then the heroine loses it in an amusing way. And the humor offsets the anger.

If it is not funny, you are much better off showing some other character haranguing the hero or heroine. That character will be hated by the reader while your heroine is loved for showing self-control. This is good.

• Dominance

This can be less important for heroine, but really, you have to consider it for both hero and heroine. You don’t want either character to appear to be spineless.

Fathers are bad for heroes. If your hero has problems with his father (or worse, his mother), do not place the hero in an initial scene where the parent has the upper hand. Your hero will be perceived as weak and undeserving of hero status.

And avoid downtrodden heroines, unless she is deciding to revolt in chapter one. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t show someone being mean to her, and her taking it. However, in the heroine’s head, she must recognize what is going on and plot to put an end to it. She must make a decision to show some spine.

That decision is her saving grace and will hook the reader’s sympathy.

Conclusion: There is obviously much more to this, but what I tried to cover are some of the techniques you can use to create characters the reader cannot ignore.
Good luck!

* * * * *

Blurb from I Bid One American

An American heiress nobody wants; a duke every woman desires; and a murder no one expects.

When Nathaniel, Duke of Peckham, meets Charlotte, he’s suspicious of her indifference. Too many women have sought—and failed—to catch him. Happily, Charlotte is more interested in dead pharaohs than English dukes and laughs at both him and his suspicions.

Her resolve crumbles, however, when a debutante seeking to entrap Nathaniel gets murdered. All too soon, his reputation as a misogynist makes him a suspect, and Charlotte impulsively comes to his aide.

Unfortunately, both are unaware that a highwayman interested in rich heiresses is following Charlotte. And that another debutante lies dead in Nathaniel’s carriage.

Some nights just don’t go as planned.

And I mean that in the best possible way!

It’s really ridiculous how energy sapping it can be to host a child’s birthday party. I spent yesterday morning baking cupcakes (48), making finger sandwiches (64), cutting up cucumber sticks (???), stuffing party bags (40), and the pinata (1!). DD invited her entire class but many never RSVP-ed and many others were bringing siblings so I wanted to be prepared for masses. (I have no idea how many children attended in the end – I was pretty much on my own and when it was busy, it was madness. But I got rid of most of the party bags so I’m pleased.)

I had the party at her school which has its pros and cons. Pros: they could swim and run around on the playground like hooligans and I didn’t have to spend much energy on supervision or cleanup. Cons: I had to cart all the food and supplies to the school.

It was 100F here in Cairo yesterday and I was very glad to have a shady spot to set up. I kept the food in the coolers for as long as I could and still the frosting on the cupcakes began to ooze and the bread on the sandwiches toasted in the wind. Judging by what was most popular, I might have saved myself a lot of effort and only served Cheetos Puffs, watermelon, and cupcakes! As you can see, I attempted to arrange the cupcakes to look like a soccer ball. It looked much better in my head, but the kids didn’t seem to mind!

Pinata was a hit (pun intended) It was reinforced inside with wire so it lasted being pummeled 2x by each child and then made it back to the beginning again before they finally tore a hole in the top. At that point I just tipped it over and dumped it on their heads!

DD wanted to open her presents as soon as we arrived home. I am always divided on the issue of birthday party presents. So often we get a pile of inexpensive, inappropriate stuff. That’s not necessarily a criticism of the gift-giver – it’s more a comment on how hard it is to find nice things in Egypt that don’t cost an arm and a leg! I’ve toyed with the idea of requesting “no presents” but that doesn’t seem fair to DD who really enjoys the whole spectacle if nothing else.

I have to say that I was truly impressed with the presents she received yesterday. Last year was the year of board games. This year, people really seemed to make an effort to find out what interests DD had – in fact, a few of the parents even called me to ask. (Demonstrating to me that I am going to have to work harder on my own present giving in future!) Among the most appropriate and surprisingly generous gifts were a book of facts about Football (soccer to the Americans), a ceramic bank shaped like a skateboard and 50LE ($10), capri pants and a top that she actually likes (a minor miracle), and a card with 150LE ($30). DD was over the moon and already planning on what she will buy with her cash (a shiny new soccer ball). We’ll be working on thank you cards over the weekend.

Oddest gift – an inflatable rubber raft, 76″x45″. Optional oars not included (thank god!)

I’ll be going out shortly to pick up a couple of birthday gifts for parties we’ll be attending over the weekend – at least I’m not hosting them! Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow – author Amy Corwin will be here with blurbs from two historical romances including her latest release I BID ONE AMERICAN as well as a great article for writers on characterization.

My family always knows that summer is coming when the boxes and packages of items I’ve purchased online start to pile up, waiting for me to retrieve them. Shelley Munro had a Thursday Thirteen post this past weekend about shopping. And it got me to thinking that I need to start on my summertime shopping list for when I’m back in the US.

I do my best to make do with what is available locally where ever it is that I am living. And depending on where I’m living that can work better and worse. It was easier in Dubai than it is in Egypt by far! Making do with local products was what prompted me to learn to bake cakes from scratch when mixes were outrageously expensive or just not available and had me trying food I might not otherwise ever have eaten. But there are certain products that I just need on hand and when a large can of Bush’s baked beans costs $10 and a bottle of McCormick’s Pure Vanilla extract and a canister of Hershey’s cocoa go for $20 each (when you can find them at all!), you can see why I max out my luggage allowance on the way home.

I have a friend who says she goes to the Omaha Steak store and packs coolers with frozen meat to bring back with her. Another friend admits to bringing back bags full of bacon. I’m not quite that ambitious and try to restrict my groceries to specialty / long-lived / dry goods, but I do have a growing shopping list.

My shopping list, in no particular order, so far:

Quilting supplies – good cotton fabric is hard to find and that goes for thread as well. Ironically, Egypt exports most of its cotton to other countries for processing. I bought a piece of white cotton on my last trip to Dubai that was marked “Egyptian Cotton, Made in Japan”. There is no batting available locally at all. I usually have one very large, very light bag packed full of batting! I weight the bottom of the bag down with the next item on my list…

Kids shoes – because the shoes in Egypt are either 1) crap or 2) $$$ . My children are both very sporty and it’s getting to the point where one pair of cross trainers isn’t good enough. They need to specialize! I’ll have to look for all purpose sport shoes for school, soccer cleats, and a smoother bottom shoe for playing tennis on a clay court. (I am hoping for athletic scholarships but I may have spent as much on their shoes and equipment as I would have on tuition at the end of the day!)

Mom’s shoes – because a girl can never have too many pretty shoes

Baking powder – it’s available locally but is sold in teaspoon sized packets!

Baking soda – again, available locally in tiny cans for about $1.50 each. I can buy a detergent sized box in the US for not much more!

Vanilla extract- see above

Ground flaxseed – a wonderful way to pack a few extra vitamins into banana bread, pancakes, etc. Not so easy to find hippy freak food in Cairo.

Cookie sheets and baking trays – $20 is more than I want to pay for a cake pan so I’m holding out for a trip to Walmart!

Food coloring, cake decorating supplies – generally hard to find!

(There seems to be a definite baking theme emerging here!)

Wild rice – so yummy and since I’ll be in Minnesota anyway…

Canned pumpkin – $5/can in Cairo and only available around the holidays

Spices – certain spices are hard to find or aren’t exactly what you expect. “Chili powder” here is actually pure red pepper!

Duct tape – you know, I never really used it when I was living in the US, but it was sort of comforting to know I could get it if I wanted it. I imagine I could practically trade it on the black market here, land where things are repaired and repaired and repaired again.

Christmas presents - if I can leave the children with my mother for an hour or so, I’ll buy a few things for their Christmas stockings that I would NEVER find in Egypt.

That’s what I’ve come up with so far but I’m sure there will be more in my bags at the end of my stay. There are no doubt many wonderful little gadgets in the baking / cooking aisles at Walmart that I’ve not dreamed of. The quantity and variety of items available in the US can be a little overwhelming when you’ve been away from it for a time!

I’m looking forward to being overwhelmed

It’s the end of the school year and in spite of the fact that my children will be under foot for two months asking me for snacks or entertainment, I’m kind of looking forward to the end of the year. It’s not as if I’m getting any peace and quiet with all the events going on.

Today I had to dash out early to pick up some supplies for my daughter’s birthday party which is tomorrow after school. Then it was on to my quilt group – last meeting was today – and from there to a long overdue dental appointment. It was my first visit to a dentist in Egypt. They passed my test so the children will go their first week of summer vacation In about an hour I’ll be heading up to school for end of year teacher meetings to discuss the children’s progress (or lack of) this school year. I’m sure we’ll be given homework for summer as well.

Tomorrow afternoon is DD’s 8th birthday party. Her whole class was invited (24) and so far I’ve only had one child decline. Two of her classmates are pairs of twins so that’s a +2 situation and a few are bringing siblings…suffice it to say I have no idea how many children will actually attend! I’m going to be spending the morning making cupcakes (48) and making finger sandwiches and filling party bags. I have so much stuff for the pinata that I have my doubts that we’ll even be able to hang it!

Birthday parties are a lot of work, but the advantage of this one is that it is at the school – they do the clean-up and it can only last 2 hours. And it won’t disrupt my weekend – which is full of (you guessed it) tennis lessons.

But in spite of all these things going on, I am happy to report that I have indeed finished the first draft of my latest project. It feels good…and not. Because now I have to turn back to page one and re-read it all and do some editing. And some adding. As usual, my word count is a little low – I need to add 10K. That sounds like a lot but then I realized it really only amounted to 500 words a chapter for each 20 chapters. That’s totally doable. (right??)

Party pictures Thursday!