Thanks to Debbie Ohi, creator of the best writing related comics in the world.
Check out more at INKYGIRL.COM.
Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night!
Another year, the same writer’s Christmas list…
2 Replies
Cranberry Orange Quick Bread
The adults in my family are not big on holiday presents. Most of my relatives don’t “want” anything, and they have no desire to spend days (and a huge chunk of change) tracking down stuff at the mall. We DO enjoy exchanging food gifts—usually homemade (though no judgment is passed if we get a tasty gift basket of treats)—because everyone likes food.
Last year my grandmother decided we all would exchange homemade breads, and a new family tradition was born. I knew most of my usual repertoire would be made by my relatives—pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, banana bread. . . I searched for a unique recipe I knew no one else would make.
Our neighbor’s tangerine tree hangs over our yard. We usually zest our small harvest so we can make Tangerinecello—our Florida a variation on the Italian Limoncello. (check out those recipes here and here!) I searched for a way to incorporate our home-grown sweet citrus.
Orange —> tangerine + Christmas. . . how about some Cranberry Orange Bread?
I fell in love with these paper trays and bags. I think they were from the Martha Stewart line, found last year at Michael’s (1/2 off, of course!) They made my breads look totally gift-worthy!
The bread was a total hit.
It’s rich, reminding me more of a light pound cake than the usual quick bread (must be all that butter). I could devour it for dessert. (Ooh, with a touch of ice cream on top I’d be in heaven!) Or you could whip up a quick glaze—I didn’t because my little breads had to travel.
It’s pretty easy, slightly decadent, and totally gift-worthy. Not to mention rather festive looking, and perfect for Christmas brunch or breakfast.
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon orange (or tangerine) zest
3/4 cup orange (or tangerine) juice
1 egg
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- Grease/spray bottom of a 8×4 or 9×5 loaf pan (skip if you’re using paper baking pans).
- Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add butter (I like to chop it into bits) and mix until good and crumbly.
- Add zest, juice, and egg; stir until moistened. Fold in cranberries.
- Pour batter (it will be thick) into pan and bake until a knife comes clean from the center.
- For a 8″ loaf, about 75 min; for a 9″ loaf, about 55-65 min at 350F (watch after about 50 min, depending on your oven).
- Loosen sides from pan, remove, and cool completely.
*Optional GLAZE*
Mix 1 Tbsp. orange juice, 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, and enough extra orange juice to get it to a “drizzly” consistency. When cake bread is completely cool, drizzle over top.
Cheers and enjoy!
I’m linking this holiday tradition up with Mama Kat. Drop by and see her!
Mom’s Classic Apple Cake
When the air turns crisp and hints of cinnamon perk your nose when you step inside, it’s usually apple season. While I have an apple pie recipe I absolutely adore, one dessert that always makes me think of home is my Mom’s Apple Cake. Growing up, when the Florida temperatures dipped just enough to make if feel like Christmas (into the upper 60s—maybe), Mom would bake her old-fashioned apple cake for friends and family.
Honestly, I forgot about the classic for a few years. I’d been focused on trying out fancy Christmas dinner desserts, which were usually pies, and figuring out new Christmas cookie recipes—cake didn’t come to mind. Then Mom made it for our annual family holiday luncheon, and the memories flooded back.
And I realized I’d had her handwritten Apple Cake recipe all along.
I made the moist, delicious cake for our very small Thanksgiving celebration this year. Since the recipe makes a 9 x 13 cake and there were only four of us, we had a week’s worth of leftovers.
It was so good, I’m making it for our big Christmas shindig, too.
This cake is a keeper—not just because it’s delicious, but because it lasts forever in the fridge. The flavors become richer and the cake moister. I’d definitely recommend making it at least a day ahead of serving, which makes it the perfect dessert for holiday planning!
You can serve it topped with whipped cream, a light dusting of powdered sugar, or some warm caramel sauce. Or you can spread a layer of rich cream cheese frosting on top. I’ve had it each way (and in varied combinations) and it’s delicious even with no toppings. My current fav is caramel and whipped cream.
You can use any variety of apples you like—I usually go for Granny Smiths, but Gala’s were on sale, and they worked beautifully. Raisins and walnuts are optional. (I know—people are either team raisin or not.) I added some golden raisins this year—perfect!. For my Christmas cake, I think I’ll soak them in brandy before adding them for an extra kick!
Mom’s Classic Apple Cake
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of ginger
2 cups peeled and diced apples (about 3-4)
*1 cup raisins (optional, but I always add)
* 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
- Grease and flour a 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- With an electric mixer, blend first four ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add vanilla.
- Mix next four ingredients (dry) in a separate bowl. Slowly add to wet ingredients, mixing by hand until thoroughly combined.
- Add in apples (and optional raisins and walnuts). Fold into batter until well incorporated.
- Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour.
- Cool completely before covering and store in refrigerator.
Once cooled, you can frost with cream cheese frosting OR finish with a big dollop of whipped cream. It’s absolutely divine with a drizzle of caramel sauce, too!
Cheers and enjoy!
On Book to Movie Adaptations and Giving Yourself the Gift of Distance
Like millions of other holiday moviegoers, the family and I watched Catching Fire over the weekend. Did I enjoy it? Heck yeah. Was it as good as the book? Nah, not quite—but it was still very entertaining IMHO.
A few years back, a book club friend forced me to start reading the Hunger Games trilogy. At the time I was highly prejudiced against YA. I was an adult. Adults didn’t need to read a novel geared to teens. ::can you feel the snoot in my voice?:: Plus dystopian creeped me out and I avoided the genre like the plague (whether or not there was one in the story). But my fellow book-lover swore I could not consider myself ‘well read’ if I didn’t give the series a try.
I can give any book a try. Challenge accepted.
I fell in love with the books, devouring the series just after Mockingjay was released. Then I made my husband read them.
But I digress…back to the movie. One of the main reasons I was able to enjoy the movie so much is that I gave myself time to let the story fade into feathered memory. Sure, I remember the main premise, the favorite characters (big picture but not details), and plot highlights, but the rest settles into that dusty storage attic where I could probably pull out details for a trivia question, but it would take longer than the final Jeopardy theme song.
I quite like it that way.
Nothing is worse than watching a movie and nitpicking every last detail. If you’re a reader, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Our suspension of disbelief is loyal to the book — the world the author built and our imagination colored and populated. There’s just no way even the most talented filmmaker can include all of the minute details. (Unless you’re Peter Jackson, and then you can make a 287 page book last almost six freaking hours on the big screen.)
With a few years (and a few hundred books) distance, I was able to enjoy Catching Fire with the proper suspension of disbelief. I’ve always thought Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrleson, and Lenny Kravitz were perfectly cast. I’ve always thought Liam Hemsworth was totally wrong (that boy’s obviously enjoyed good genes and plenty of food–he’s way to brawny to be an underfed District 12 member).
The other characters…I really don’t remember.
I DO remember when I first saw the actor who was cast as Finnick I was not impressed. Too lanky, to small. Once again, I was proved wrong. Or should I say, Sam Clafin proved me wrong—from what I remember of the character, he portrayed Finnick beautifully. I remember less about Joanna, but I loved Jenna Malone’s sassy, strong character in the film.
Had I read the book right before watching the movie, I’m sure I would have come up with criticisms—plot points they left out, fine details missed, characters acting out of step. But I gave myself the gift of distance, and I was able to enjoy the novel as I read it a few years ago and fully experience the movie as it was meant to be seen.
How about you: do you like reading a book right before watching the movie adaptation or do you like to give it some space?
Weird, Wild, and Crazy Toys for Kids
As the 2013 holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, I’ve been scouring Amazon for the most unusual gifts in cyberspace. Let me tell you—there are bizarre toys and gifts out there, and I’ve culled some of my *favorites* for your shopping pleasure. ::ahem:: A few of these products are rather ingenious. Others are crude and gross beyond belief (which means I’m sure many kids would love them). Will Santa be placing any of these presents under your tree?
Daddle (the saddle for Dads)
Prank Star Poo-dough
Canned Unicorn Meat
Canned Dragon Meat
Despicable Me 2 Exclusive Banana Scented Fart Gun
Pig Out Pete Game
Gassy Gus
*Theses last two ‘games’ sound like recipes for early-childhood eating disorders.*
‘I Heart Guts’ Designer Plush Organ Figures
or Having a Ball Testicle Plush 
Doggie Doo
Blue Raspberry Rock Candy Crystals (1 Pound Bag)
Crib Dribbler
Yes, this is a PRANK. It’s actually just an empty box—your real gift goes inside. Come on, can’t you just imagine your pregnant sister-in-laws eyes widening when she unwraps this on Christmas day? Or how about tucking the handmade, 100% organic baby blanket you made for your slightly crunchy friend’s baby shower inside? Make sure you have a camera rolling to catch the gasps.
So, are any of these products going on your holiday shopping list?
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake (Full Size and Minis)
Okay kids: we only have ONE week left to go pumpkin crazy. One! The Christmas countdown is already in full-swing, and those eggnog and peppermint treats have already booted out our favorite fall flavors in so many places (I’m taking to you Starbucks). There’s still a little time left enjoy Pumpkin Season and plan your Thanksgiving menus. This desert could be the star of your Turkey Day meal.
I love cheesecake. I love pumpkin. (duh!) And gingersnaps make my tongue dance with delight—I’ve been adding ginger to everything lately. Combine them all and you get a delish dessert perfect for crisp a fall evening or your Thanksgiving feast.
The original recipe is for a normal 9-inch cheesecake, made in a springform pan. When my hubby informed me he had to bring a dessert to his office’s Thanksgiving potluck (he works for the State— everything is a potluck) I decided to make a batch of cupcake-sized treats. The same recipe, except for a few minor alterations, turned into 24 adorable individual desserts—perfect for a holiday potluck. They were the hit of the party!
Both recipe variations are easy to make. I highly recommend crumbling the crispy gingersnap cookies in a food processor. It saves a ton of time and makes the cookies a fine, even consistency. (The good old-fashioned method involves placing the cookies in a giant bag, then bashing and rolling them with a rolling pin.) I also like a LOT of “spice” in my pies, so if you enjoy a more subtle flavor, just add a pinch less cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger.
Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake (using 9-inch pan)
Ingredients:
Gingersnap Crust:
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 1 box)
6 tablespoons of melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
Filling:
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 tablespoon flour
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Whipped cream for topping, if you like (I like!)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Crust: In a large bowl, mix cookie crumbs, butter, and sugar. Pour into 9-inch springform pan. Press FIRMLY into bottom of the pan (I use the waxed paper butter wrapper to keep crumbs from sticking to my hand). Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Filling: In another large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. (If your mixer is old like mine, start on low than up it to medium or high).
- Add eggs one at a time. After each egg, gently beat on low speed until just incorporated.
- Add spices, pumpkin, flour and vanilla. Beat until well blended and no lumps remain.
- Pour into crust.
- Bake 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Let cheesecake cool in pan at least one hour. Refrigerate once cooled (at least 4 hours before serving, preferably overnight).
- If necessary, run a knife along inside edge of pan to loosen before removing outer upper part springform pan.
- Serve with whipped cream & enjoy!
MINI Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecakes
Makes 2 dozen single-serving cakes
This goes pretty much the same as the recipe above with a few exceptions (differences are in dark red).
Ingredients:
Gingersnap Crust:
1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
Filling:
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 tablespoon flour
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Whipped cream for topping, if you like (I like!) 
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Crusts: In a large bowl, mix cookie crumbs, butter, and sugar. Place 24 cupcake liners into cupcake pan(s). Scoop about 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture into each liner until it’s divided evenly. Press FIRMLY into bottoms (I use the waxed paper butter wrapper to keep crumbs from sticking to my hand). Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Filling: In another large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. (If your mixer is old like mine, start on low than up it to medium or high).
- Add eggs one at a time. After each egg, gently beat on low speed until just incorporated.
- Add spices, pumpkin, flour and vanilla. Beat until well blended and no lumps remain.
- Pour into cupcake pan, about 1/4 cup in each liner, until nearly full.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Let cheesecake cool in pan at least 1 hour. Refrigerate once cooled (at least 3 hours before serving, preferably overnight).
- Serve with whipped cream & enjoy!
**These recipes are derived from a McCormick Spice ad I found in my Sunday paper.
What I’m Reading: Fall Edition
This has been a banner year for books. From sentimental journeys to fast-paced thrillers, I’ve been overwhelmed with the number of amazing books released this year. I simply don’t have time to write reviews for all the novel’s I’ve fallen in love with (and in a few cases, eloquent masters of the craft have already written glowing reviews—I’m talking about you Margret Atwood reviewing Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep).
Some of the books below are new releases, some have been out a few months. Those library wait lists can take a while. All are highly recommended.
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist—but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.
Quick thoughts: Don’t go into this holding onto any memories of Eat, Pray, Love. The two works cannot compare. The Signature of All Things is a complex historical tale, in which Gilbert skillfully weaves family saga, the world of botany, and a pioneering woman’s journey to discover herself. Though not quite as lyrical, it reminded me of Isabel Allende’s mesmerizing novels.
by Rainbow Rowell
Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
Quick thoughts: This story could have been about me. I’ve never gotten into the world of fan fiction, and Harry Potter (whom I assume Simon Snow is based on) didn’t swoop in on his broom until I was an adult, but Rainbow Rowell has expertly captured the quiet yet deeply-felt world of the bookish clan. Those of us who would rather sit home with a good book or a pen in hand instead of donning stilettos and hitting a frat party will instantly bond with Cath. Rowell nails it.
Allison Winn Scotch
What happens when you think you have it all, and then suddenly it’s taken away?
Willa Chandler-Golden’s father changed the world with his self-help bestseller, Is It Really Your Choice? Why Your Entire Life May Be Out of Your Control. Millions of devoted fans now find solace in his notion that everything happens for a reason. Though Willa isn’t entirely convinced of her father’s theories, she readily admits that the universe has delivered her a solid life: a reliable husband, a fast-paced career. Sure there are hiccups – negative pregnancy tests, embattled siblings – but this is what the universe has brought, and life, if she doesn’t think about it too much, is wonderful.
Then her (evidently not-so-reliable) husband proposes this: a two-month break. Two months to see if they can’t live their lives without each other. And before Willa can sort out destiny and fate and what it all means, she’s axed from her job, her 12 year-old nephew Nicky moves in, her ex-boyfriend finds her on Facebook, and her best friend Vanessa lands a gig writing for Dare You!, the hottest new reality TV show. And then Vanessa lures Willa into dares of her own – dares that run counter to her father’s theories of fate, dares that might change everything…but only if Willa is brave enough to stop listening to the universe and instead aim for the stars
Quick thoughts: What happens when an established, traditionally published (and much beloved) author goes indie? She puts out a kick-ass story, sells a zillion copies (I hope) and readers win because the book is on Amazon for only $2.99!
by Stephen King
Stephen King returns to the character and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.
On highways across America, a tribe of people called the True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, the True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the steam that children with the shining produce when they are slowly tortured to death.
Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel, where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant shining power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”
Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of devoted readers of The Shining and satisfy anyone new to this icon in the King canon.
Quick thoughts: Wowza. I was terribly worried this book would disappoint. Most sequels leave you shaking your head in disappointment. The Shining reigns as one of King’s greatest works—how could he pull off a sequel that would instantly draw us back into Danny’s world and make us grip the pages wondering what comes next? No need to be worried. This book was like catching up with an old friend—granted, he’s a damaged old friend who sees dead people, can tell when you’re going to die, and battles a horrifying clan of child-killers, but you’ll love him just the same. Make sure you’ve read The Shining first—even if it was twenty years ago. It will all come back to you.
by Daniel Silva
When a beautiful young British woman vanishes on the island of Corsica, a prime minister’s career is threatened with destruction. Gabriel Allon, the wayward son of Israeli intelligence, is thrust into a game of shadows where nothing is what it seems…and where the only thing more dangerous than his enemies might be the truth…
Silva’s work has captured the imagination of millions worldwide; his #1 New York Times bestselling series which chronicles the adventures of art-restorer and master spy Gabriel Allon has earned the praise of readers and reviewers everywhere. This captivating new page-turner from the undisputed master of spy fiction is sure to thrill new and old fans alike.
Quick thoughts: So many of my favorite mystery and thriller series have petered out lately and I’ve wistfully given up on them. But in Silva’s sixteenth spy story, the stakes are still astronomically high, the characters sharp, and the pacing whisks readers through the world of international intrigue. The English Girl is a smart thriller that will challenge your views on international politics—and leave you wondering about this underground world people like super-spy Gabriel Allon inhabit, saving us from from the bad guys out there we can’t even imagine.
How about you? Which books make your fall must-read list?
Easy Harvest Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Yes. I am one of those people who just can’t get enough pumpkin. While I don’t drive to Starbucks to sate my craving, I do savor the dollop of pumpkin spice creamer I pour into my home-brewed coffee each fall morning. (Sorry, I can’t fathom driving and waiting in a line before I’ve had a cup of coffee.)
In my semi-homemade world, I go big on pumpkin in October and November. Besides store bought pumpkin coffee creamers, bagels, and cream cheese, I make pumpkin muffins, breads, pies, and CAKES.
Craving something chock full of fall flavors? Try this super easy pumpkin spice cake. It’s so simple your kids could make it. Seriously. (And you’re kind of sneaking in a helping of fruits/veggies!)
Pumpkin cakes come out moist and slightly dense, so I prefer to bake them in a 9 x 13 pan. And this frosting—yum. It’s much better if you use real maple syrup (Aunt Jemima won’t cut it here).
Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake
1 (18.25 oz) box spice cake mix
1 (1 lb) can pumpkin
3 eggs
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
3 tablespoons water
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds (or until just blended), then on high for 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into greased (bottom only) 9 x 13 pan. Bake 30-35 minutes (check bake time on cake mix box).
- Cool. Frost with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1 (8 oz) package neufchatel or cream cheese
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
4 cups powdered sugar
- In large bowl, blend butter and cream cheese with a mixer on low speed. Add maple syrup; blend well.
- Add powdered sugar slowly. Beat well after each addition so it doesn’t fly everywhere.
- Ice & enjoy!
That’s it! Told you it was easy! Perfect for holiday potlucks and gatherings.
Cheers!
**this recipe is based on one from Quick Fixes with Mixes by Lia Roessner Wilson
Want some more pumpkin recipes? Check out:
Pumpkin Pineapple Snack Muffins (my kiddo’s fav snack!)
Review: Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
I fell in love with William Ashe at gunpoint, in a Circle K. It was on a Friday afternoon at the tail end of a Georgia summer so ungodly hot the air felt like it had been boiled red. We were both staring down the barrel of an ancient, creaky .32 that could kill us just as dead as a really nice gun could.
I fell in love with Someone Else’s Love Story the first time I read those opening lines in a teaser post a few months ago.
From Goo
dreads:
At twenty-one, Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Natty, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced Catholic mother and Jewish father. She’s got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up in a gas station mini-mart and falling in love with a great wall of a man named William Ashe, who willingly steps between the armed robber and her son.
Shandi doesn’t know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It’s been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his universe. But William doesn’t define destiny the way other people do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in science and numbers, destiny to him is about choice.
Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, in a funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness,; about a virgin birth, a sacrifice, and a resurrection; about falling in love, and learning that things aren’t always what they seem—or what we hope they will be. It’s a novel about discovering what we want and ultimately finding what we need.
*****************************************
Oh, Lord, have I ever mentioned how much I adore Joshilyn Jackson books? Almost to the point where I have a writer-crush on her. (I think actually stuttered when I met her a year or so ago. Writers are my rock stars. It was rather embarrassing.) My cheapskate-butt actually paid FULL PRICE for a hardcover of her last book, A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
Someone Else’s Love Story did not disappoint.
The opening scene is like a bad joke: a meth head, an autistic genius, a too-young mom, and a brilliant toddler born from a virgin walk into a convince store . . . What happens next is far from convenient. (Oops. I almost wrote covenant. Nuns play a role in this story, too.)
If you’re held up at gunpoint, your life MUST change in some earth-shattering ways, right? Since almost all the characters involved were already living beside the river DENIAL, things start flowing.
This book deals with a smorgasbord of heavy stuff: crime, trauma, grief, child-loss, rape, religion, autism, drugs, and more. But before your forehead gets all scrunched up—this book is also damn funny. In between, Jackson manages to wriggle in destiny vs. choice, science vs. religion, chemistry vs. friendship, miracles vs.explanations—and fireworks, birdhouses, and sweet poets named Walcott.
I couldn’t help being engaged by William and Shandi, flaws and all. The characters are just so colorfully drawn. Even little Natty is divine (I pictured him as that precociously adorable blond kid from Jerry Maguire). And although some of the secondary characters come off as a might-bit brash, a little off, or lacking morals, I came to see the motivations for their ways.
These characters, even the ones I held dear, fight against things they know to be true. They banish their golems to the closet even though they know the door locks are broken, and eventually the bad is going to bust out. They make choices the reader may not agree with, but hey, it’s the character’s choice.
So much of this tale is backstory. Technically, all the answers must be found there, and the reader is lured along as hunks of the characters pasts are unveiled, sometimes even to the characters themselves. This can be clunky in novels, but here it’s integrated so well, I hardly noticed the jaunts from past to present. Jackson also knows her way around imagery and metaphor [“walking into air so thick with cat-fight tension that to me it tasted just like estrogen”] saturating the prose with a style I can only think of as deliciously Southern.
The novel is short—a scant 300 or so pages—and while I was dying to know how certain storylines would play in the future (which I can’t mention due to spoilers), I admire her restraint in just letting the ending be. Good things must come to an end.
Oh, and did I mention that she released an e-original short story that gives a fierce and funny character from Someone Else’s Love Story a standalone adventure all her own? Check out My Own Miraculous: A Short Story
$1.99 $0.99!! Yeah–ninety-nine cents! (Thanks for the heads-up Mom.)
Someone Else’s Love Story is the She Reads Book Club November pick. If you head over there, you can WIN 1 of 5 beautiful copies they’re giving away before the book releases November 18th. Ms. Jackson will be dropping by She Reads all month sharing exclusive content including pictures of her writing space, the inspiration behind the novel, and the short story prequel to the novel (among other things). Make sure you check it out. I certainly will.
Someone Else’s Love Story: A Novel
by Joshilyn Jackson
Print Length: 320 pages
Release date: November 19, 2013
*Joshilyn Jackson narrates the Audible Audio Edition
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Review: Karma Gone Bad: How I Learned to Love Mangos, Bollywood and Water Buffalo by Jenny Feldon
Review: Non-fiction, travel, memoir
Imagine you are a chic Manhattanite, living a Sex in the City-ish (freshly married) life filled with yoga lessons, designer duds, and your daily Starbucks hit. (I know, it’s a far cry from my life. Ever.) Now imagine your new husband’s employer “asks” him to start up a new office in a far-flung local. (Uhm–yay? I get to be a world traveler?) You think London, Paris, maybe even Amsterdam or Istanbul. Instead you get…Hyderabad, India. (Where?)
As Karma Gone Bad opens, our narrator, 27-year-old blogger, writer, and yoga enthusiast Jenny, is worried about having enough time to get a blow-out and which stilettos to pair with the gorgeous Diane von Furstenberg gown she’s wearing to her goingaway party. Though she adores NYC, she’s turned off by the trash in the gutters, rude taxi drivers, and the ‘grit’ of the Big Apple. India will be a jet-setters paradise, right? She ever-so-reluctantly packs her novel-in-progress, designer shoes, cocktail dresses, and her dog’s teddy bear for the journey of a lifetime. And her beloved dog, Tucker, of course.
Yes, dear readers, at this point I was shaking my head, too.
We know this isn’t going to go smoothly. Someone is ripe for a major wake-up call.
And that call came before she could find any coffee.
You see, coffee isn’t really prevalent in India. Not a Starbucks to be found—at least when Jenny arrives. She endures a (chauffeured) drive through the congested Third-world city only to find overpriced chai tea (costing ten times what it does for natives) —then realizes she left the house with no rupees, only a worthless AmEx card.
It takes Jenny a while to truly awaken to life in India. Her journey is as much internal as learning the lay of this strange land.
She hadn’t planned on finding “help,” but in India, she’s expected to have servants. Her driver, cook, housekeepers, security guard, and water tank watcher (you’ll have to read the book to understand that one) become stifling. She hardly ever sees her overworked husband, and she grows desperately lonely though she’s never alone.
Jenny tries to forge a sense of community through the few other corporate wives and expats who seem to have acclimated to Indian life easier, yet they’re carefully elated when their short times are up and they return to the states. Jenny is in it for the long-haul.
Now, this story could have stalled if our plucky-yet-somewhat-spoiled heroine remained stagnant in this world of frustration, desperation, and denial. But instead of withering in the Hyderabad heat, she grows.
Karma Gone Bad is a well-spun tale about discovery—not only of a foreign culture, but of self. Jenny’s brutal honesty about her decent into travel-induced depression, strained marriage, and inability to grasp her purpose in Indian life endears her to readers, but it’s her humor that keeps us going as we cross our fingers hoping she finds her way.
When I read stories of Upper West Side wives, I often feel as if I’m reading a travel memoir. These women live in a place I’ve never been doing things I can only imagine—the smells, sights, and experiences seem foreign to this suburban Floridian. Jenny’s journey from that NYC world to Hyderabad allowed me to live vicariously through her, as I’m pretty sure now I never want to spend two years in India. Visit—sure. I’ll travel anywhere. But spend two years? ::shaking head:: Though she may not have seemed it in the beginning, that girl was brave.
Karma Gone Bad will sate your travel bug and leave you laughing, worrying, and cheering as you follow Jenny’s humbling and enlightening journey. Thanks for taking us along for your beautiful, bumpy ride, Jenny.
Jenny’s Blog: Karma Contiued | website | Twitter | Facebook |
Karma Gone Bad: How I Learned to Love Mangos, Bollywood and Water Buffalo
by Jenny Feldon
Sourcebooks (November 5, 2013)
336 pages
