Cooking up a storm

Jordan and Christian went to take Jacob to camp in East Texas today, and they stopped for lunch at The Shed in Edom, scene of so many happy family dinners years ago that the mere mention of it sends me into a bout of teary nostalgia. Knowing this, Christian sent this picture with the message, “Wish you were here!” I think the sign is new since I was last at The Shed, probably fifteen years ago. That was the trip when Christian drove us all over that small town looking for his grandmother’s house, only to find that it’s right next door to The Shed.

The Shed is also the inspiration for the café in my Blue Plate Café Mysteries.

Meanwhile, back in Fort Worth, I went to church on Facebook, where I could see and hear the service. Perfectly appropriate, I thought to myself, as I listened to the sermon about food, specifically about Jesus and the loaves and fish. And I’m cooking with weekend. Just a bit of a quantity difference.

Yesterday, I did some menu planning, placed a larger-than-usual order with Central Market, and went gleefully off to pick it up. By myself. In my car.

Friends came by last night for happy hour. A high school classmates of Jordan’s, who has remained like family to us, and his fiancée, with an October wedding in the offing. I should be at the “older generation” shower today but begged off, and they came to pick up my shower gift. We had a good visit—perhaps the highlight was listening to the chickens cackle, which reminded them of laughter. Jordan swears she’ll never again hear that sound without laughing.

It was late for supper when they left, so I fixed myself an easy and quick meal: sautéed some pre-cooked green beans in butter with salt and pepper (I had overcooked them a bit in that pre-boil, but they were still so delicious) and sautéed two small filets of Dover sole in butter with salt, pepper, and lemon. It always amazes me that restaurants charge such high dollar for Dover sole when you can buy it so reasonably in the fish market. My dinner was delicious. Jordan wandered out just as I plated it and said, “Yum.” But there wasn’t enough to share.

I’ve been wanting to try a recipe for creamed spinach, so I made it a lunchtime today. Easy as could be, with a sauce of butter, onion, garlic, cream cheese and milk. And plenty of time to let the spinach cool so I could squeeze it dry. My own touch not called for in the recipe: this was fresh spinach, so after I squeezed it, I made some crosswise cuts in that tight ball of leaves, so it became chopped spinach. So much easier to eat. The recipe called for four bunches of spinach and I, naturally, had only bought one, so I had to make the sauce by guess and by-golly.

Tonight’s menu was seared sirloin strips in white wine, twice-baked potato (bought from Central Market) and the creamed spinach. Since I made the spinach at noon, all I had to do was pop it and the potato in the toaster oven for thirty minutes. As soon as it went off, I browned slices of sirloin, tossed with flour, salt and pepper. When they barely lost their pink, I removed them, sautéed garlic and rosemary, added white wine, and put the meat into warm. After the first couple of bites of steak, I realized a spritz of lemon would be a great addition and got a half lemon out of the fridge. All so good but, as my mom used to say, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I had to ask myself for a doggie bag—tomorrow’s lunch.

A satisfying day of cooking and reading.

Hip, hip, hooray! A new book launched today

Desperate for Death, the sixth Kelly O'Connell Mystery, launched today as an e-book, with print to follow. It's a tangled tale of arson, stalking, a missing young girl, two men using the same name, a surprise inheritance, and, as usual, Kelly in danger--only this time she has a very special reason to survive. And she knows she must protect her daughters. Still all the pieces in the puzzle don't fit together, no matter how hard she tries. It might be the most complicated of Kelly's adventures yet, but in some ways it's the wackiest too. I had a lot of fun writing it.
I'm laughing at myself tonight. All my writing life, I've wanted to write mysteries. But for many years, I thought someone else wrote those--they were over there on another shelf. I wrote about the American West, primarily the experiences of women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I was a western author and have received some nice recognition for my work in that field. But, always, on the side, I was reading mysteries--mostly cozies, mostly contemporary. I'm not as schooled in the Agatha Christie canon or other of the British greats as I should be and sometimes I feel like an interloper. I also don't follow a lot of the advice given in various blogs and online classes and the like. I mostly just bumble my way through, writing as it comes to me. The one piece of advice I always keep in mind came from Elmer Kelton, the late great Texas novelist, who always advised authors to "listen to your characters--they'll tell you where your story is going." I'll never reach Elmer's status, but that's advice I try to follow.
When I first joined Sisters in Crime, and the sub-group Guppies (Going to be Published), I was amazed at the new and knowledgeable world I had fallen into. Although my apprenticeship was shorter than some, I still regret the wasted time--querying about 20 agents to no avail, leaving the manuscript with one publisher for a year while they kept saying they were close to a decision (a big no-no I've since learned--give them a deadline), signing a year's contract with an agent who went from enthusiastic to indifferent (another no-no--don't tie your work up). By good fortune I hooked up with Turquoise Morning Press and publisher Kim Jacobs who has been very good to me. I'm sorry that this is our last book together, because she is taking the press in another direction and will no longer be publishing mysteries. But she will always have my gratitude. I'm not sure what's coming next but I did self-publish a stand-alone, The Perfect Coed, and I have a sequel about half-finished; I've finished a draft of the third in my Blue Plate Café Mysteries, and I just sent a Chicago historical to an editor. So yes, there will be more Judy Alter books.
Why am I laughing? Because six years ago I told myself if I could just get one mystery in print, I'd be happy. I now have six in the Kelly O'Connell series, two in the Blue Plate Café series, the one stand-alone. I've done all right in six years, and I plan to keep on doing it. Changes in the publishing world, as well as retirement, have made all this possible, but that's another story.
Thanks to all of you who have supported my books and, I hope, enjoyed them.

A banner day--and some uncertainty

My newest mystery, The Perfect Coed, is live on Amazon today--actually it was live a couple of days ago. The ebook was supposed to be delayed until October 1, but it doesn't look to me like it was. This is a huge deal to me, a book that is my first leap into indie publishing, one that I've labored over for several years, and one I really hope readers like. It's different from the Kelly O'Connell and Blue Plate Café mysteries--a little darker, a little more complicated, a little less cozy.
But when and whether to announce has been a dilemma. I was uncertain of the timing in putting a book on Amazon, so, compulsive that I am, I planned ahead--had it edited and formatted last spring and early summer. Started a listing on Amazon for it, but sat on the proof for a long time because I'd advertised an October 15 pub date. Then that seemed silly, and I approved the proof. It was up almost instantly. So in an industry where the dreaded scourge is a late book, mine is a month and a half early.
Another thing about indie publishing: there's no fanfare about launching, unless you create it. So if you see this cover over and over, I'm sorry. I just want everyone who might be interested to know it's out there. I'll be posting excerpts and snippets of reviews--all good so far.
This is probably the first mystery I ever wrote (if you don't count Nancy Drew knock-offs years ago)--though it's been through countless versions. I wrote it ten to twelve years ago and placed it with an agent who got disinterested replies at best. In retrospect, she was the wrong agent. She wanted me to write romance, which I didn't feel any affinity for, and her main area of expertise was textbooks. Eventually either I took it back or she gave it back--anyway we both gave up.
I joined Sisters in Crime and Guppies and learned more than I can ever tell about the world of writing and publishing mysteries. And I published seven--five in the Kelly O'Connell series, with one more to come, and two in the Blue Plate Café series. But every so often I went back and rewrote The Perfect Coed, and I followed my instincts. I thought it was good; I ignored my mentor's advice to take out two of my favorite characters, who have since been praised in one review. I kept at it. Perseverance, they tell me, is the key to publishing.
I am eternally grateful to Turquoise Morning Press for getting me into the world of mysteries, but when they announced they would henceforth only publish romance, it solved a dilemma for me. I didn't want to go with another small press--I'd learned some lessons there--and I surely didn't want to compete for a slot in the competitive world of New York houses. I don't need that kind of pressure to produce in retirement. Sure, I like my books to make money but I also like to enjoy my life and don't want to feel driven. So indie publishing was my answer. And after considering all the pros and cons and opinions, I chose to go exclusively with Amazon--at least at first.
So there it is folks--my big project is out there for you to judge if you want to. If you're in Fort
Worth, watch for a launch party at the Old Neighborhood Grill sometimes soon. Believe me, I'll give plenty of notice--and maybe come up with some giveaways and prizes and fun things.
Happy reading!