the SIMMER blog

books, babies and balance

The lovely Amy Sue Nathan recently interviewed me at her (just-turned-one!) blog, Women's Fiction Writers, talking about the paperback launch of The Kitchen Daughter and some other things I've got going on. Like the particular type of baking that involves a bun in the oven.

Click here for the interview!

virginia is for readers

Once more, I'm taking the Kitchen Daughter show on the road... I'll be appearing this weekend in Charlottesville at the Virginia Festival of the Book. So excited about this! I've never really been to a book festival on this scale, so I'm really looking forward to seeing a bunch of my author-friends, meeting readers, and generally just being in a book-celebrating atmosphere. Awesome.

If you're in the Charlottesville area or know someone who is, spread the word! I'm doing a panel on Friday about family secrets, and one on Saturday about recipe development. Details here: check 'em out.

 

words around the web

Wanted to point you toward a couple of recent pieces of mine -- not food-related, but writing-related. One's a little silly and one's more serious.

Silly first! On Intrepid Media I guessed at a few ways the TV networks might try to capitalize on the recent success of the British period drama "Downton Abbey." Click here to read: downton, shabby.

And the more serious one is the first in a series of posts for Writer Unboxed that flips around cliched writing advice to give writers a new way to think about their approach. The series is called Flip the Script and the first installment explains why sometimes "Show, don't tell" should become "Tell, Don't Show."

Enjoy!

kuchnia duchow

One of the most surprising and wonderful things about the publication process of The Kitchen Daughter has been the international editions. I had never really thought about seeing the book translated into other languages, and being sold in other countries to readers across the world. But foreign rights sold in six countries -- yay! The really funny part? It's being translated into six languages, and I don't speak a single one of them.

So I particularly enjoyed this demonstration of the Hot Hot Chocolate recipe from the book, narrated in Polish.

Hot Hot Chocolate from Kuchnia Duchow.

(And isn't it cool to see another foreign cover? They're all so different!)

two weeks til Philly!

Just two weeks until my appearance in Philly with the lovely Sarah McCoy! We'll be talking about our books The Kitchen Daughter and The Baker's Daughter at The Spiral Bookcase. It's been ages since I've been to Manayunk so I'm really looking forward to the visit. Love Philadelphia.

Details here.

Refreshments, of course, will be served.

in good company at magical musings

The very kind Marilyn Brant included The Kitchen Daughter in a recent spotlight post at Magical Musings -- thanks, Marilyn! The other two are Sarah McCoy's The Baker's Daughter and Kristina McMorris's The Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, both definitely worth checking out. In addition to our similar last names (funny, isn't it?) all three authors have something else in common -- our novels include recipes, and each of us shares a little bit about the book and a recipe in Marilyn's spotlight post.

Click here for a taste of all three novels!

back to one more page!

When The Kitchen Daughter came out in hardcover last year, one of my favorite events was a Saturday afternoon visit to One More Page, a fabulous new independent bookstore in Arlington, VA. Not only do they sell an excellent collection of books there, they also offer two other things I love: really good chocolate and really good wine. Mmmmm.

So I'll be back at One More Page to celebrate the paperback release, of course! How could I resist a return trip to a heaven like that?

I'll be reading from and signing The Kitchen Daughter on Saturday, January 28, at 2pm. Here's the info on One More Page. Hope to see you DC-area fans and friends there!

resolved

2012 is coming out of the gate fast and furious! If you're still hunting about for a New Year's resolution, or at least a goal for the year, I've got one big recommendation in my latest piece on Intrepid Media. It's a resolution that can apply to any writer at any stage of your career -- and it's my resolution for the year too.

Click here to read the most important resolution for writers.

new year, more words

Happy New Year! Kicking off 2012 with the usual flurry of words and food, but haven't been taking a lot of pictures, so today let's focus on the words.

I've got a new post up at Writer Unboxed about finding the lines -- between arrogance and confidence, between caution and fear, and between lots of other things that are essential to succeeding as a writer. (It applies pretty well to regular life, too.) Click here to read.

Also, I often get questions about how to break into food writing, and now there's a post that sums up advice and suggestions better than I ever could -- it's by Necee Regis on Beyond the Margins. Check this one out if you've ever thought about writing about food.

the kitchen daughter now in paperback!

Yep, today's the day! The Kitchen Daughter is now available in paperback. So you can get it for a holiday gift in hardcover, paperback, or e-book, as you choose!

Like the hardcover, the paperback is available at Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, at Amazon, and through many independent bookstores, as well as a new addition -- Target! So if you happen to be Christmas shopping this week... keep your eye out for this lovely cover!

(Does it ever hurt to have the word "OPRAH" on the cover? I think not. Yay!)