A Moment

If you live in the Northeast, you celebrated the arrival of Spring only to watch in disbelief as the thermometer plunged and, in some places, snow fell. Hard not to feel disheartened. 


But on an early morning walk recently with Zoe, I noticed these two, quietly enjoying each others company and what warmth the sun offered. Enjoying the moment. A simple and beautiful example of one of those "Pay Attention!" moments the Universe tends to toss our way constantly - most of which we ignore as we storm through our busy lives.

Happy Spring.

So, what's going on with the book?

That's a question I keep hearing and I guess it's high time I brought you up to date. 


Last fall I decided to take back control of my book and self-publish. I researched a few self-publishing companies and settled on one called "Create Space", primarily because it's owned by Amazon. Working with them meant that my finished book would be available on Amazon both in printed and e-book format. The printed book would even qualify for their free shipping deal. And because of the Amazon connection, it was clear this was no fly-by-night company that was going to take my money and suddenly disappear. So I signed up, paid my registration fee and hit the first question: What is the title of your book? Uh... Ummm... The entire time I was writing the book, the title was leap. It never occurred to me the word "leap" might be popular with other authors. It is. Very. The word leap is the title, or an integral part of the title, of about a gazillion books. Ugh. Back to the drawing board.


I found choosing a title for my book tougher than choosing a name for each of our sons. A title must be catchy. And relevant. Enticing and interesting. As one person told me: "Your title should tell a prospective reader at a glance what your book is about. You have no more than three seconds to capture someone's interest." Great... For a couple of weeks I drove myself - and most of those around me - crazy. I'd come up with something that I thought worked and no one else would like it. Someone would make a suggestion and I'd hate it. At least three times I thought I'd settled - for good - on something, only to toss it in the trash after a couple of days. In the end it was really simple. What is the book about? My ten year journey with a skinny, pink pig. The title? The Pig and Me. With the tagline: Tired of hearing "you can't", one woman sets out with a pan of brownies and a skinny, pink pig to prove that she can.  Done. Huge relief.


Create Space makes a point of saying that what you send to them is exactly what will be printed. Not just words, but format as well. Terrifying! So I read through the entire manuscript one more time, tweaking here and there. Then I sent it to a copy editor. He went through it and made some changes, so I had to go through it again - deciding whether to accept his changes.  Then I signed on for the formatting service Create Space offers, so they could turn my words into a book. And now, staring up from the table next to my computer is the first printed copy of the formatted manuscript. Waiting not-so-patiently for me to pick it up - with pencil in hand - and read through it one more time. 


It's been three years - three years - this month since I set my first words down.  If I'm getting tired of this seemingly never-ending project, I can imagine what my family and close friends are feeling. But take heart one and all! The end is, indeed, in sight.

Shrimp Scampi

This is a wonderful - and easy recipe. And it was the first one I attempted to make - and photograph - in our apartment's small, galley kitchen. 


Since I had the time to clean up after the initial prep, I got off to a great start. That's the secret to cooking in this kitchen. Clean-as-you-go leaves plenty of counter space. No problemo. But I'd decided to serve from the kitchen (Adam & Sarah were with us for dinner) and this is one of those recipes that requires all your attention once you start to cook. As I quickly discovered, there wasn't time for c-a-y-g. In my NH kitchen, I just dump empty prep dishes in the double sink or on the acres of counter space around the stove. Doesn't work here. As I started to cook, the priority became stirring the shrimp so they didn't (God forbid!) overcook, while stirring the pasta so it didn't (God forbid!) stick together, while running hot water into the serving bowl and desperately trying to find a couple of square inches of empty counter space for used cutting boards, bowls, large knives and spoons.  Suddenly, there I was: standing in the midst of total chaos with a bowl of perfectly pink shrimp and nowhere to put it, while the wine and lemon juice boiled away, threatening to reduce to nothing. 


The camera never entered my mind.


So... a couple of nice shots, then just the rest of the recipe. 

Shrimp Scampi

1 pound linguine or pasta of your choice
4 tablespoons butter (divided in half)
4 tablespoons olive oil (divided in half)
1 large shallot, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, finely diced or put through a garlic press
Pinch of red pepper flakes
About 1 pound large, raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (these are a staple in my refrigerator)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley

Two smaller shallots and some hefty garlic cloves. 

The grocery store only had jumbo shrimp, which when left whole, are too large for one, polite bite.
I hate fussing with cutting them while trying to eat pasta, so I cut them in half before cooking.

You can tell the parsley's really fresh by the bright green color.

A marriage made in heaven. A dry white wine and lemon.
No comments from the peanut gallery about the bottle being empty...

And that's all the pictures there are. You'd think I would have remembered to take a great shot of the finished product, but alas...  all I could think of was sitting down and filling my empty belly with pasta and shrimp! You'll just have to make it for yourself!

1.   Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and linguine and cook until the pasta is NOT quite done.

2.   RESERVE 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta (I drain the pasta right into the serving dish – the hot water warms the bowl and keeps it hot until you are ready for it).

3.   While pasta is cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.

4.   Saute the shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes until the shallots are translucent – about 3 to 4 minutes.

5.   Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add to the pan.

6.   Cook until they turn pink – about 2 to 3 minutes – then remove with slotted spoon and set aside.

7.   Add the wine and lemon juice to the pan and bring to a boil.

8.   Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and oil.

9.   When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley, pasta and reserved water.  Stir over high heat until pasta is done (shouldn’t take any more than a minute).

10.  Transfer to warm pasta bowl, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

Serves: 4 (or 2 and great leftovers!!) 

So near and yet so very, very far...

We just returned from six days back in our New Hampshire house-for-sale. While hubby spent most of his time dozing on the couch trying to sleep off a mean case of bronchitis, I had coffee with the girls, got my hair cut, attended an all-day writers conference with the women in my writer's group and had dinner with friends. All fun events that made me happy to be in our NH home. 


I also drove through blinding snow squalls and freezing rain, didn't see the sun until the day we left and slid off my icy driveway into a large snowbank - in the pouring rain. Neither the car nor I were injured, but we did have to call the sand guy to come sand and help push me out. So although there were some great moments, I did a lot of whining. Ask my poor, already suffering husband. 


It's hard to grasp that the weather can be so incredibly different when two places are a mere five hour drive apart. Below are pictures I took when Zoe and I went for a walk, the day before we left. The temperature was in the low 50's...

Although things are definitely starting to green-up here, the grass hasn't gotten this lush quite yet.
This field in Cadman Plaza is astro turf.

A mom putting out a picnic for her little ones along-side a high school sports team running drills.
In the background, three groups of teen-aged boys are playing tag football.

This is a shot of our house on the one day the sun shone. Gorgeous, huh? 

It was 3 degrees...


I'm happy to back in Brooklyn. Hubby's just happy I've stopped whining.

Yesterday

Yesterday was a gorgeous late winter day here in Brooklyn. Blue sky, sunshine and, what seemed like balmy, mid-thirties temperatures. Zoe and I went for a long walk and, along the way, I finally pulled out my camera. I thought it would be fun to share some of the sights of our walk through Brooklyn Heights.


When we walk to BH from our apartment, we cross a plaza and park that run from Borough Hall (which I should have gotten a picture of... Will remedy that soon - it's a wonderful old building) to the Brooklyn Bridge. A small winter Farmer's Market inhabits this plaza three days a week. I'm told that it is significantly bigger in the warm weather. The top of the Manhattan Bridge can be seen in the background.

After crossing the plaza, we walked to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, bordered on the left by the East River and the right by wonderful, old brownstones. Unfortunately, it's probably no more than a quarter mile in length so it's more for strolling than jogging. We discovered it's a great place to spend some time on a beautiful day. Zoe and I planted ourselves on one of the park benches and watched helicopters take off and land at the heliport across the river. 

Brooklyn Bridge is in the background and in the far distance is the Empire State Building. The area you can see to the left, along the river, is the site of the new Brooklyn Bridge Park which is currently under construction. Someone told me that it has been more than a hundred years since the city of New York has made this significant an investment in a park.

The southern tip of Manhattan, which is the Financial District and The Seaport

A small playground tucked in among the trees and grand homes.

It's hard to really see, but the entire first floor of this home is a solarium.

I was absolutely blown away when I discovered these flowers. It had been seventeen degrees the morning before! Yes, they are real! They look a bit like a large primrose. Does anyone know what they are?

On the walk home, we passed several big trucks with huge cables and equipment spilling out, then an open tent with food and several large coffee urns. Sensing a film shoot nearby, Zoe and I wandered in the direction of the activity.

Just seconds after I shot this last picture, Sarah Jessica Parker walked past me and into the blue tent to my left! She's taller than I thought...


Finally, a couple of pictures of some of the wonderful architecture we passed on the way home. I am completely taken with the many spectacular homes - and windows and doors. I fear you'll be seeing many of them in the future. 

Grace Alley is a tiny dead-end street lined with old carriage houses that have become homes.

Another amazing carriage house

And it's grand next door neighbor.
All these streets are tree-lined, so getting pictures without either branches or shadows is nearly impossible.

All in one afternoon's walk.

The Proposal

Part 5 of: From Blank Screen to Printed Book OR Writing the Book was the Fun Part...


The manuscript was completed (or so I thought). It was time to find an agent to help me navigate the wild waters of the publishing world. 


To find an agent, one must first write the perfect query letter. I did my research and learned that it must be a one-page, three paragraph letter. The first paragraph explains why you have selected this particular agent. This paragraph requires a great deal of research as each letter must be targeted to an agent who represents other works like yours and must be personalized - either "so-and-so referred" me or "I read in an interview that you said..." or some other tidbit that shows you have done your homework. The second paragraph must be a compelling, but concise, synopsis of the book. One that leaves the reader just aching for more.


The last paragraph is the author's credentials - Masters degree in Creative Writing, Movie Star, Political Star, Nobel Prize winner, First Woman to...  The idea is to blow the agent away with how amazing you are. Founder of a brownie mix company was not exactly what they were looking for. On the other hand, it wasn't something that crossed their desks every day. I hoped it would be enough to at least spark some curiosity.


I re-wrote the second and third paragraphs at least ten times until Suzanne declared it "Perfect!", then worked on the personalized first paragraph. I had targeted about thirty agents for my first mailing, so those first paragraphs took some time, but the research was interesting and kind of fun. Then came the task that I didn't dislike, I hated. If your book is non-fiction, before you send out your query letter, you must be ready with a proposal for your book, because if the query peaks any interest in an agent, the next thing they will ask to see is your proposal. 


A proposal is really a business plan for your book and makes complete sense if the author is trying to find an agent/publisher before the book is completed. But my book is called "creative non-fiction" and is more like a novel - only it's true. The manuscript was complete and I couldn't (still can't) figure out why I needed to write a fifty page document that included a detailed synopsis of the book, a full page on who I was and once again, my credentials for writing the book. It also required specific statistics on who my audience would be and why; what books I considered my competition, why, when they were published and how they sold. Then, the piece de resistance: a complete and detailed marketing and promotion plan with statistical information on every potential marketing avenue, how I intended to pursue that avenue and what I would do to promote the book. Isn't that what the agent and publisher do? Why again, will I receive only 10% of the revenue from my book?? 


Finally, a one paragraph summary of each and every chapter.


I sent out twenty-two queries. I had eight people respond and ask for the proposal and one ask for the manuscript. Of those who asked for the proposal, I received a polite "No thank you" from four and never heard from any of the others. The one who did read it, said that it might make a good magazine article, but there wasn't enough substance for a book. She suggested that maybe if I added a history of the baking mix industry, it would be better. Suzanne's comment that she'd rather have her teeth drilled than read a history of the baking mix industry made me feel slightly better.  


It became clear that the success or failure of my book rested in the hands of people who didn't have either the time or the interest to read it. And, whether Jane Q. Public realized it or not, these people wielded a huge amount of power on her behalf. Going this route, there was a very good chance the book would never get printed. It suddenly hit me that getting my book into reader's hands was very much like getting my fat free brownies into customer's mouth. An agent is the equivalent of a food broker. A publisher? No different than the buyer at a big grocery chain. I was faced with the same options I had when I started No Pudge!. Sit and wait, or take back control and do it my way.  


To be continued...

My, how time flies...

I know I started a story and then left you hanging, and I'm sorry. But living in The Big Apple is kinda time consuming... 


Every morning I roll out of bed, pull on jeans and a fleece, hat, scarf, down coat, warm boots and mittens, and Zoe and I head for the park. We just discovered Fort Greene Park, where dogs are allowed off-leash until 9 in the morning, and that's now our daily destination. It's about 4 blocks from here and every morning the sidewalks are filled with commuters walking purposefully to work, and moms or nannies, often with full strollers, walking their kids to a school near the park. Zoe has adapted amazing well to the crowded sidewalks and trots right along. Until she notices someone she finds particularly interesting and then she either tries to say hello, or just stares at them as we go by. She makes people smile, and at 7:30 on a frigid Brooklyn morning, I think that's pretty cool.


It would be wonderful if I could get all my errands done when I'm up and out early with Zoe, but since I can't take her in any store that sells food, I have to make two trips. Often covering the same territory. It's a bit frustrating, but I keep telling myself that all this walking is keeping me healthy. 


I decided to paint the apartment. Given the size of the place, I figured I could get it all done in one day. Someone told me the nearest hardware store that sells paint is about a mile and a half away, so one morning I walked there, lugged home paint and supplies, painted the living room - two coats - and hated the color. So back to the hardware store, lug home more paint and supplies (I'll bet you're thinking: aren't there those yellow cars called "cabs" in New York? Yes, there are cabs, but I'm determined to only take one if it's absolutely, positively necessary. And so far I haven't run into a situation that fits those parameters), and paint the living room again. This time I love the color - but run out of paint before I'm done. Another someone tells me about another hardware store that sells Ben Moore and it's only about a half mile from here! Yippee! I walk there, pick up just a little more paint, come home, finish the living room and... the colors don't match. Different store, different mixer, slightly different color. Back to the first store, more damn paint and the living room is DONE. A one-day task that slipped into a one-week ordeal.




Then there's the subway trips into Manhattan. I made it to Crate & Barrel and back in 45 minutes the other day. Forty-five minutes to Crate & Barrel! And back! For a girl who has lived in the wilds of New Hampshire for twenty-five years and who has had to drive an hour and a half one way to find a C&B, that is LIFE ALTERING! There was this pillow I'd seen on the Pottery Barn website. I wanted to see it in person. That trip took a little over an hour. That includes round-trip on the 4/5 train (I sound like a New Yorker, huh?), wandering the store and coming home. 


I have no idea how the days fly by, but they do. And I'm loving every second.