the SIMMER blog

me, around the web

Hello, blog readers! It's a pretty hectic December here -- more on that soon -- but I wanted to point you to a couple of pieces of writing that are new on the web this week:

40 weeks of a new life, part thoughtful reflection and part big announcement, over on Intrepid Media;

and Out in the E-World, talking about the importance of e-books and the new e-short story I've got coming out later this month, on Writer Unboxed.

Hope you enjoy these pieces, and see you back here soon!

la cucina degli ingredienti magici

Today's the day! The first of the foreign translations of The Kitchen Daughter is coming out, and given the importance of Italian food in the storyline, it seems very fitting that the very first one should be Italian.

They've given the book a new title -- La Cucina Degli Ingredienti Magici, which translates to The Kitchen of Magical Ingredients -- and a gorgeous new cover. Every time I look at it, I see new layers of gorgeous. Bellissima!

So very excited to get my hands on this beautiful book in person!

the kitchen daughter paperback cover!

Ooh, I do love a big reveal... and here's one for today!

We have an official cover for the upcoming paperback edition of The Kitchen Daughter:

Very different from the hardcover, clearly -- it's a much warmer feeling, and the image is obviously more literal. I love the intriguing ambiguity of the hardcover image, but I also love that this cover draws on a story within the story. So I'll be just as excited to see this one on the shelves as I was the last one.

(And of course that fabulous quote on the cover doesn't hurt either! There will be more quotes and blurbs in the first few pages of the book itself, and a Reading Group Guide in the back.)

back and gone again!

Had a wonderful, wonderful time in East Tennessee (Knoxville, Sweetwater, Kingston & Ten Mile) on my Kitchen Daughter trip -- and now I'm off again! This time to a writers' retreat all the way on the West Coast. The timing works out nicely, since I got to focus for a few days on being outgoing, promotional, and all about The Kitchen Daughter... and now I get to focus for a few days on being reflective, creative, and all about working on the next book.

So, no more posts this week, but I'll be back next week to check in and tell you some very exciting news about a particular magazine I love that just happened to publish something of mine in their most recent issue. Stay tuned!

trip to tennessee!

I've been traveling about once a month for events related to The Kitchen Daughter, and lo and behold, it's almost time for another trip. I'll be in Eastern Tennessee -- specifically, the Knoxville area -- for several days next weekend. Events include bookstore and library readings as well as a tasting tea and a tasting luncheon, and proceeds from the ticketed events will go to the Autism Society of America East Tennessee chapter.

Click here for the dates, times, and locations. See you there!

writing matters this friday!

If you're in Northern New Jersey, you can come see me this Friday (September 23) at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair -- I'll be on a panel with three other writers talking about the solitary writer's life, and how we find ways to connect and get beyond our isolation. We'll chat, discuss, sign books, the works.

7pm this Friday. The more the merrier!

Details here on the Watchung Booksellers site.

talking books on writer unboxed

Even if you read everything I put on the internet -- this blog, my Facebook and Twitter accounts, my writing at Writer Unboxed and Intrepid Media, and guest columns all over the place -- there are three little words you will never read from me: "buy my book." I don't like it from other people so I won't do it myself. And I make that advice explicit to other writers in my latest post at Writer Unboxed.

Click here to read Why We Buy.

Q&A and recipe and giveaway!

Oh, this is fun! The wonderful and talented cookbook author Domenica Marchetti (her latest book is The Glorious Pasta of Italy, YUM) interviewed me for her site recently. And not only can you read the Q&A on her site, she has also adapted and posted the recipe for Midnight Cry Brownies, and she's giving away a copy of the book! So if you don't have The Kitchen Daughter yet, or you want one for a friend, here's your chance -- just comment on her blog with the name of your favorite piece of food-related fiction.

Click here to read, enter, and enjoy.

auction for a good cause

A few weeks ago, food blogger Jennifer Perillo lost her husband to a sudden heart attack. Jennie is well-known and much-loved in the food blogging community -- I got to meet her last spring when we were on a panel together at Eat Write Retreat and she is thoughtful, warm, and insightful. She is also now faced with raising two daughters alone on an irregular income. So Bloggers Without Borders is running a number of fantastic auctions to raise money to help. And I'm thrilled to have The Kitchen Daughter included in a package of 50+ cookbooks and magazine subscriptions that will go to one lucky bidder, with the proceeds going to A Fund For Jennie (or, if you're Twittercentric, #afundforjennie). 

Click here to see the full list of books and bids.

Bidding runs til noon this Monday, August 29.

say yes to michigan!

Just a quick note for those of you in the great state of Michigan -- I've got a couple of appearances this week (so much fun!) in your neck of the woods. Click below for more info:

Thursday, August 18, 7pm at Ann Arbor District Library (downtown branch)

Friday, August 19, 5pm at McLean & Eakin in Petoskey

Hope to see some of you there!