Drink Your Cake

This is a great rum cake to start (or end) the year. I've been making this one for the past few years and everyone loves it. This is possibly the moistest cake I've ever had.

Puerto Rican Rum Cake

Cake:

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

1 18 1/2 ounce yellow cake mix

1 1 3/4 ounce instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup dark rum

Glaze:

1 stick butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 dark run

For the cake, preheat over to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour (important, as I've had this cake stick in a Teflon coated pan and its not pretty) 12 cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts on the bottom of pan. Combine all other cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan. Invert on serving plate. Prick top with fork and drizzle glaze over the top of cake. Watch as it pours over the sides and makes a pool in the center. If you like, use a brush or spoon to put the dripping back on the cake.

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. PLEASE BE CAREFUL as the run will cause steam and you don't want to burn yourself. You want to drink your cake, not wear it.

Happy New Year!

I Won! I Won! And a Recipe for You

I'm the lucky winner of two book giveaways! How did I get so lucky, you ask? Well, I entered.

I won Tracey Devlyn's Checkmate, My Lord on the Romance University blog. It looks wickedly fun.

And then! I won Mia Ross' A Gift of Family on the Harlequin Board's Open House giveaway.

It's that time of the year - ah, comfort food. Is there anything better? Why does food taste better when it's cold outside? Don't ask me why, but it does. This is a low fat comfort food soup which is filled with flavor.

Spicy Black Bean Vegetarian Soup

1 can of black beans

2 cups of chicken broth (use the light sodium, you won’t miss the salt)

½ cup salsa (you decide if you want hot or mild)

Cilantro sprigs (this is optional, as my sister will tell you not everyone likes cilantro)

Crushed tortilla chips (be gentle)

Puree half the can of black beans with the 2 cups of chicken broth in a blender. Add mixture in a pan with the remainder of the black beans and ½ cup of salsa. Let simmer for a few minutes, and let the flavors get to know each other. Remember that cooking, like love, can’t be rushed. You’ll know when it’s ready. I trust you.

Serve in a bowl garnishing with sprigs of cilantro and crushed tortilla chips on top because every soup deserves a little dressing up.

This makes a nice light lunch on a cold autumn or winter day. Serve with half a sandwich or a green salad or all by itself.

A Christmas Miracle ... sort of

Speaking of the journey toward publication, here's the journey of a Poinsettia. I bought two Poinsettias last year at Christmas time. By April 2012, I was impressed enough to take a photo where you can observe their new growth (and still red leaves).

In July all the red leaves are gone, replaced by bountiful green - but see how well they are doing! In JULY!

Finally we see them full circle in December - still hanging in there, still green. No more red leaves but they're alive.

You have no idea what this means to a notorious plant killer like myself. Yes, it's a Christmas miracle ... sort of.

Sometimes it can feel like I’m spinning my wheels so I created this list

Writing is a lonely business, and I tend to complain a lot.

It’s the end of the year and for once I’m getting a head start. After all, the challenge of October of 2010 by my writing partners at the time was: just finish ONE of those many books you’ve started but never finished.

Challenge accepted!

Fast-forward two years later. Whew. So it may have taken me more than a year, but in January of 2012 I completed my first book (through many revisions, of course). This is a goal I was proud of on its own merit – I’ve been writing since 2004 and never finished anything but a few short stories. Novels seemed to peter out at about 18,000 words when I became overwhelmed with the enormity of the process and moved on to something else.

I blogged about this before but I’ll tell you a secret: I don’t think the first novel was any good. There, I’ve said it. But there is a steep learning curve in writing fiction, and I’m grateful I have the eyes to see when something I’ve written (my very own baby) isn’t quite “ready”. Ouch.

Yes, that novel was rejected in May of 2012.

So in recap, this year:

I finished (January) and submitted (February) my first novel to Harlequin Love Inspired and received my very first rejection (May)

Entered Mills & Boone’s Fast Draft for Medical Romances with a synopsis and first chapter and was rejected (June)

Participated in Love Inspired Pitch and received a request for synopsis (June) My synopsis received a request for a partial (July) My partial received a request for a full (October) and is still under consideration

I received a request for Revise and Resubmit from Everyday Fiction for my short story Among the Living (June) and after changes a firmer Rejection (October).

I revised the entry for M&B and entered the first chapter into the Golden Palm contest (August)

I revised my original novel and entered So You Think You Can Write (October)

I become a Pro Pin member of the RWA (November)

I entered the Golden Heart contest, the Rolls Royce of the RWA (November)

I completed Nanowrimo for the first time (November)

When I review the above, I don’t feel so bad. I’ve been working hard, writing and subbing and entering contests. If effort equals reward, something should bear fruit in the reaping. Or so I keep telling myself.

The Shy Writer

I'm visiting Rebecca J. Clark's wonderful blog The Shy Writer today.

The subject of Rebecca's blog got me to thinking more about whether or not I'm a shy writer. So much that I had to consult the definition of "shy".

1. bashful, retiring;

2. easily frightened away; timid

3. suspicious; distrustful

4. reluctant; wary

5. deficient (shy of funds)

I probably do not fit into most people's definition of a shy person. After all, I've done some public speaking and I sing in front of an audience which means I can't possibly be shy, right?

But as a writer, I might be considered shy at times. It's sometimes difficult to promote my work and angst producing to ask people to vote for me every day (as in So You Think You Can Write). Does that make me shy? Maybe.

I do believe there is a shy writer inside all of us whether we admit to it or not, or whether as Rebecca had done, we learn to fake it well.

So You Think You Can Write Voting Ends

So You Think You Can Write Global 2012 ended yesterday. All that's left is to count the votes, determine the top twenty-five by popular vote, and await the decision of the judges for the three "wild card" picks.

A few have opined that it will be interesting to see who the wild card picks are and compare to the popular vote. Will you agree with the editors or with the popular vote?

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm.

The editors will be contacting finalists starting Monday. Twitter is abuzz as writers chew off their fingernails. Waiting is difficult,if you think you might have a chance.

But the wise writer will keep busy - writing!

I'm Glad I Waited

This might be viewed as controversial and I want to be careful not to step on any toes. Please excuse me while I walk on eggshells.

After I wrote my first novel and it was rejected by Harlequin Love Inspired Lines, I briefly considered publishing it myself. After all, everyone seemed to be doing that. Instead I finished the second in the series I’d envisioned, and then another novel in a completely different genre. I didn’t look at my first baby for close to a year.

I’m glad I waited, and here’s why.

As with a lot of firstborns, mom needs to step back and gain perspective. We hear this told time and time again, but sometimes we don’t listen. We get defensive. We find published novels that are far worse than ours and rail at the injustice. We wonder why a publisher wants a novel to fit into that little round hole.

Sometimes we give in to vanity publishing or the ever popular Indie publishing. None of these things are horrible and I’m not here to say that they are.

But I’m glad I didn’t do it.

After some time and distance I picked up my first again. Guess what? It turns out it’s not my best work. It’s not horrible, but it’s far from the best I can do. And then again, it is entirely possible that my writing has actually improved in the last year.

Nothing can take the place of practice. I now understand the all important scene, GMC, character and world building. In my first novel, every period and comma was well placed. I had an editor look it over and she did a great job. Unfortunately it’s not all about grammar, as much as we love to hate the Indies that appear to have been published without so much as a proofread.

Our story has to grab the reader from the very first page and draw them into the world you’ve created. Ground them in the perspective of your hero or heroine and let them see inside their soul. Not an easy thing to do.

I’m still working on it but I’m happy to say I’ve made progress. And my first isn’t going anywhere.

But this begs the question: what if it's not your first novel? What if it's your tenth?