Ah, memories of my childhood, sitting at my grandma's table and ---
Just kidding, here's the recipe
1/2 cup butter or substitute (I use I Can't Believe It's Vegan)
1 pint heavy cream
1 small chopped white onion (optional)
7 ounces garlic chive cream cheese (or any other flavor if you prefer - though strawberry cream cheese may be a choice that would cause your loved ones to question your sanity and kitchen competence.)
7 ounces of grated Parmesan/Romano/Asiago cheese (personal preferences, yo) Deli fresh or bagged preferred. If you use the Parm stuff from a can it will be so dry that you'll likely experience an out of body experience that will drop you on the surface of Arakis.
1 tspn ground black pepper
1 tspn dried italian seasoning, if you're feeling extra italian
Warm the butter over low to medium heat. Once it's melted feel free to throw in some onions. Saute for 2 to 4 minutes if you add the onion.
Pour in heavy cream. DON'T BOIL ANY OF THIS OR THE WORLD WILL END!
Add in your cream cheese. It's going to take a while for it to soften and melt. Be patient, stir fairly frequently. Put the phone down and pay attention to what you're doing so it doesn't boil! (see comment above)
Once the cream cheese is melted add in your pepper and italian seasonings (optional.) Stir it all together.
Add in the Parmesan cheese or cheese blend, slowly stirring it in. Again, it's going to require patience while it all melts.
Yes, the heat is low but boiling this mess will result in your alfredo separating and then congealing into a tasty brick once it cools.
Total time: 20 - 25 minutes (15 if you want a ruined sauce, 30 if you're overly cautious.)
Cook up your favorite pasta and pour the sauce over. I recommend cheese tortellini.
Put leftover sauce in a container that seals and refrigerate. Will remain good for up to one week if stored properly. Simply reheat in microwave for roughly 1 minute per cup used.
Serving size for the above recipe is however much you feel like stuffing in your belly. Go on, treat yo' self!
Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Screaming Into the Void
After a few months of promotion I am dialing things back now that MFoDB is out in the wild. Sales online have been so-so. When I do physical appearances it seems to go much better. That's just the way it is for a lot of writers, I think. There are so many of us out there (upwards of 12 million, according to Amazon) that we really have to aggressively try to capture our own little piece of the pie.
That brings me to the subject of promotion curve. Before publishing my debut I heard that it was a learning curve and WOW has it ever been. There are a million people using a million different promotion strategies so I won't even pretend that I know enough to offer any kind of advice. What I did want to talk about was exactly how much of a grind promoting my work has been.
Social media was a huge help with me along the way, in building a readership, and getting a lot of good advice...and by social media I mean Twitter because Facebook is a crap filled dumpster that really should be burned to the ground. I do feel sorry for people that get sick of seeing books spamming their Twitter feed, though, but I hope they also understand that for authors (especially new ones like myself) we really have to throw our books out there so often just for it to saturate the tiniest fraction of the potential audience.
More often than not promoting - be it on social media, or with paid ads on a venue like Amazon, Bookbub, etc - feels like screaming into the wind when no one is actively listening and you just have to keep at it until someone finally hears you and checks to see what all of the hollering is about. I don't mind sinking some change into promotion but when I looked at impressions vs click through rates it was such an eye opening experience for me. People who sell things have to do two things -- create a lot of something to sell, and advertise the heck right out of it until sales lead to reviews, then word of mouth starts circulating, and so on.
If you're a fledgling author please don't expect your book to sprout wings and take off. Stay humble about expectations and realize that, much like with a child, you're going to have to nurture the crap out of the thing until it stumbles out on its own - to succeed or to fail. Just don't give up on it, like a parent would never give up on their child.
Keep on screaming into the void, folks. Believe it or not, someone is actually listening.
That brings me to the subject of promotion curve. Before publishing my debut I heard that it was a learning curve and WOW has it ever been. There are a million people using a million different promotion strategies so I won't even pretend that I know enough to offer any kind of advice. What I did want to talk about was exactly how much of a grind promoting my work has been.
Social media was a huge help with me along the way, in building a readership, and getting a lot of good advice...and by social media I mean Twitter because Facebook is a crap filled dumpster that really should be burned to the ground. I do feel sorry for people that get sick of seeing books spamming their Twitter feed, though, but I hope they also understand that for authors (especially new ones like myself) we really have to throw our books out there so often just for it to saturate the tiniest fraction of the potential audience.
More often than not promoting - be it on social media, or with paid ads on a venue like Amazon, Bookbub, etc - feels like screaming into the wind when no one is actively listening and you just have to keep at it until someone finally hears you and checks to see what all of the hollering is about. I don't mind sinking some change into promotion but when I looked at impressions vs click through rates it was such an eye opening experience for me. People who sell things have to do two things -- create a lot of something to sell, and advertise the heck right out of it until sales lead to reviews, then word of mouth starts circulating, and so on.
If you're a fledgling author please don't expect your book to sprout wings and take off. Stay humble about expectations and realize that, much like with a child, you're going to have to nurture the crap out of the thing until it stumbles out on its own - to succeed or to fail. Just don't give up on it, like a parent would never give up on their child.
Keep on screaming into the void, folks. Believe it or not, someone is actually listening.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Blood on the Floor
I'm nearly 70,000 words into the writing of Maestra (formerly Maestri) and have come to the realization that I am very guilty of over-writing this thing. Holy crap, this MS is full of bloat. I briefly considered deleting a major portion of Part 2 and starting over but I'm convinced that there is enough salvageable material to justify leaving it and re-working it in the second draft.
My number one enemy at this stage is exposition. Sure, I have a lot of information that needs to come out but I am doing it incredibly poorly in parts. It's clunky and just not clicking. What's really frustrating is that some of those scenes transition into great sequences so it's going to be a surgical strike when I tear this script limb from limb in the next pass.
It's probably reasonable to say that most authors suffer these frustrations. It's all part of the career. I had minor issues like this in Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett but not nearly of the scale that I experienced in the middle of Maestra. By the time I hit 70,000 words I should have been well on my way to wrapping up part 2 and going into the home stretch of part 3, but I don't even see the light at the end of the tunnel from where my story is at. I think in draft 2 a character may end up dying just to speed things along.
Hopefully writing draft 2 of this doesn't follow my experience with writing MFODB in that I actually increased the word count of that book by 15,000 on the second draft.
I enjoy editing when I hit that stage but on this book it really is going to feel like gutting my book. I can't see myself putting out a 180,000 word novel at this point in my career. It just wouldn't work. So I'm going to have to slice and dice this storyline down into something that keeps the pace moving and doesn't feel like some sort of grand egotistical escapade. Things are going to get bloody.
I apologize for not posting more often, lately, but life has been a bit hectic. I've been booking signings and trying to be a responsible husband and daddy while juggling my writing. I hope you all are enjoying the last weeks of winter. Will update again soon.
Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett, now on sale for 99 cents on ebook through February 6th, or FREE on Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431
My number one enemy at this stage is exposition. Sure, I have a lot of information that needs to come out but I am doing it incredibly poorly in parts. It's clunky and just not clicking. What's really frustrating is that some of those scenes transition into great sequences so it's going to be a surgical strike when I tear this script limb from limb in the next pass.
It's probably reasonable to say that most authors suffer these frustrations. It's all part of the career. I had minor issues like this in Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett but not nearly of the scale that I experienced in the middle of Maestra. By the time I hit 70,000 words I should have been well on my way to wrapping up part 2 and going into the home stretch of part 3, but I don't even see the light at the end of the tunnel from where my story is at. I think in draft 2 a character may end up dying just to speed things along.
Hopefully writing draft 2 of this doesn't follow my experience with writing MFODB in that I actually increased the word count of that book by 15,000 on the second draft.
I enjoy editing when I hit that stage but on this book it really is going to feel like gutting my book. I can't see myself putting out a 180,000 word novel at this point in my career. It just wouldn't work. So I'm going to have to slice and dice this storyline down into something that keeps the pace moving and doesn't feel like some sort of grand egotistical escapade. Things are going to get bloody.
I apologize for not posting more often, lately, but life has been a bit hectic. I've been booking signings and trying to be a responsible husband and daddy while juggling my writing. I hope you all are enjoying the last weeks of winter. Will update again soon.
Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett, now on sale for 99 cents on ebook through February 6th, or FREE on Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
The Aftermath: When Family Reads Your Work
In the lead up to the publishing of The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett, (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431), I pretty much kept it a secret from nearly my entire family. I wasn't ashamed of my work at all, I just have a very awkward relationship with my family. They tend to be a touch judgmental...okay, REALLY judgmental and it drives me nuts. I had a multitude of concerns with them reading my work. It's pretty far out there for uptight Christian retirees. One thing I wasn't prepared for (and really should have been) is that they would read a deeper meaning into absolutely every aspect of my book.
So, my daughter spilled the beans to them that I wrote a book. Yay. They read it. Yay. They never did tell me whether they liked it or not. What they have done is make slights toward me whenever possible. "So, you killed us in the first chapter."
No. It's a work of fiction. The main character isn't me. You're not in the book.
Nope. It was too late. Two months after reading it they continue to bring up characters in the book and telling me that they absolutely know for a fact who certain people in the book are in real life. It's been bad enough that I actually sat back and reflected as to whether I did subconsciously put people I knew into the book...but, since I don't know any evil telekinetic children who want to watch the world burn or little old ladies bent on world destruction I think it's safe to say that the book is a work of fiction.
Still, it is awkward and lingers on.
I am seriously considering asking them not to read my next novel, because I don't want to be dealing with this every 10-12 months during a new book release cycle. Those are stressful enough to deal with and I really don't need upset parents continuing to guilt me over every little insecurity in their own lives.
Anyone else find themselves dealing with this when they release a book? I would love to hear some thoughts on the subject.
Feel free to vent away.
__________
The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett
FREE with Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 on eBook, and only $12.99 in Paperback on Amazon
So, my daughter spilled the beans to them that I wrote a book. Yay. They read it. Yay. They never did tell me whether they liked it or not. What they have done is make slights toward me whenever possible. "So, you killed us in the first chapter."
No. It's a work of fiction. The main character isn't me. You're not in the book.
Nope. It was too late. Two months after reading it they continue to bring up characters in the book and telling me that they absolutely know for a fact who certain people in the book are in real life. It's been bad enough that I actually sat back and reflected as to whether I did subconsciously put people I knew into the book...but, since I don't know any evil telekinetic children who want to watch the world burn or little old ladies bent on world destruction I think it's safe to say that the book is a work of fiction.
Still, it is awkward and lingers on.
I am seriously considering asking them not to read my next novel, because I don't want to be dealing with this every 10-12 months during a new book release cycle. Those are stressful enough to deal with and I really don't need upset parents continuing to guilt me over every little insecurity in their own lives.
Anyone else find themselves dealing with this when they release a book? I would love to hear some thoughts on the subject.
Feel free to vent away.
__________
The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett
FREE with Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 on eBook, and only $12.99 in Paperback on Amazon
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Brigid's Song
From the East
oh with nomadic sounds
bustles of man lay vacant
as the January morn'
Head and heart
with intentions abounds
Spring thoughts run rampant
green garland adorns
from many to few
as so many wish
for paths taken
endings from humble starts
from frost to dew
from ice to mist
I will awaken
beneath the moving stars
_______
Spring fever has struck here in mid-Michigan. The weather has begun to tease us with days above freezing and the daffodils are beginning to poke through the melting snow, which typically doesn't happen for at least another month.
So here I am staring out my window on a Sunday morning, a week from Imbolc, and trying my best to keep my anticipation of warm summer weather in check. Michigan typically throws us a curve ball and whacks us in March and April if we have a warmer than normal January and February.
On this slightly warmer than normal mid-Winter morning I will simply settle for a brief daydream of what's to come and pay tribute to the approach of Spring. This time of year it's easy to become depressed and thinking about life returning to the world, soon, brings hope. The days are getting longer and the sun carries a bit of warmth on the rare occasions when it peeks out from behind thick snow clouds.
Head down for a few more weeks and when I look up again, may flowers fill the fields.
oh with nomadic sounds
bustles of man lay vacant
as the January morn'
Head and heart
with intentions abounds
Spring thoughts run rampant
green garland adorns
from many to few
as so many wish
for paths taken
endings from humble starts
from frost to dew
from ice to mist
I will awaken
beneath the moving stars
_______
Spring fever has struck here in mid-Michigan. The weather has begun to tease us with days above freezing and the daffodils are beginning to poke through the melting snow, which typically doesn't happen for at least another month.
So here I am staring out my window on a Sunday morning, a week from Imbolc, and trying my best to keep my anticipation of warm summer weather in check. Michigan typically throws us a curve ball and whacks us in March and April if we have a warmer than normal January and February.
On this slightly warmer than normal mid-Winter morning I will simply settle for a brief daydream of what's to come and pay tribute to the approach of Spring. This time of year it's easy to become depressed and thinking about life returning to the world, soon, brings hope. The days are getting longer and the sun carries a bit of warmth on the rare occasions when it peeks out from behind thick snow clouds.
Head down for a few more weeks and when I look up again, may flowers fill the fields.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Age Ratings and Trigger Warnings: The Hot Potato of the Writing Industry
I've read a lot of discussion over the past week about how many folks really desire to see some sort of trigger warning or age-safety rating on books. My knee jerk reaction was to say "Well, we have book categories -- aren't those good enough?" I mean, if someone sees a book listed as Adult Horror shouldn't they expect upsetting material as a part of the experience when reading that work?
Normally I avoid wading into comments sections on social media posts but I made an exception here and read the thoughtful (and surprisingly polite) conversations on these threads. It opened my eyes to a whole perspective that I had never considered... and this comes from someone who has battle depression and associative trauma from a divorce nearly a decade ago. These folks have very valid concerns about what they read and don't want to unknowingly wander into something that could be severely detrimental to their mental health.
Now on the other side you have authors who like to reserve certain parts of their books for the element of surprise, especially when a particularly triggering-type event could have a major impact on the plot. Plainly labeling that the book contains such material could potentially damage the reader's experience, removing the shocks and twists.
I have seen people clamoring for a rating system very similar to that of video games. My problem with that is video games tend to be dynamic, shifting, often open world experiences where the player dictates the action. When people watch movies or read books the reader isn't in control, the author is. Another fundamental flaw with suggestions for movie rating-like book ratings for content is that, whether we want to admit it or not, those ratings do take something away from the experience of watching the film. Unfortunately, a film is such a massive media event that it really is impossible to handle the marketing of a movie's rating in any other way. A whole family can watch a movie together, a whole family rarely reads a book, though. Literature is a far more intimate experience. It's personal, in your face and in your head in a way that few films ever will be.
So, again, what can we do about it?
Aside from the spoiler aspect, providing detailed content warnings on literary works would be very expensive. A certified third party organization would eventually be involved to verify the content of the book. Authors would end up eating the cost of this in a lot of cases -- not only independent and small publisher authors but don't think that even a large publishing house would be willing to eat that cost for all of their authors. If the authors don't pay for it, it will get built into the cost of a book -- making it more expensive. However you boil it down there would be damage to the literary industry. Also, films are subject to editing in order to be released. Would we really want to go down the rabbit hole of censorship in literature? Stores could only want to stock non-triggering material and that could lead to publishers and agents who are unwilling to include some content in books -- demanding that it be edited out before publishing.
That would be the death knell of the literary arts.
Yet, we must absolutely not disenfranchise people who are susceptible to psychological harm from our works.
So, I believe that (in an imperfect world) the least imperfect solution should be left in the community of readers. I would encourage readers to build forums to communicate with one another and even do their own logging of triggers contained within books to share with one another.
Also, I would HIGHLY ENCOURAGE readers with questions about content to seek out the author of the work in question (either through their social media page or via publisher) and just ask if something might be contained within the book.
Authors are surprisingly generous and communicative with their readers. We love the fact that people take an interest in our work and would have absolutely no problem taking time out of our day to alleviate your concerns. This way you can put your head to rest and we can preserve the integrity of our work.
It's not a perfect solution, but these ideas could go a long way to preventing someone from stumbling upon something in their reading that could be damaging to their psyche.
I am really interested in hearing thoughts on this.
Normally I avoid wading into comments sections on social media posts but I made an exception here and read the thoughtful (and surprisingly polite) conversations on these threads. It opened my eyes to a whole perspective that I had never considered... and this comes from someone who has battle depression and associative trauma from a divorce nearly a decade ago. These folks have very valid concerns about what they read and don't want to unknowingly wander into something that could be severely detrimental to their mental health.
Now on the other side you have authors who like to reserve certain parts of their books for the element of surprise, especially when a particularly triggering-type event could have a major impact on the plot. Plainly labeling that the book contains such material could potentially damage the reader's experience, removing the shocks and twists.
I have seen people clamoring for a rating system very similar to that of video games. My problem with that is video games tend to be dynamic, shifting, often open world experiences where the player dictates the action. When people watch movies or read books the reader isn't in control, the author is. Another fundamental flaw with suggestions for movie rating-like book ratings for content is that, whether we want to admit it or not, those ratings do take something away from the experience of watching the film. Unfortunately, a film is such a massive media event that it really is impossible to handle the marketing of a movie's rating in any other way. A whole family can watch a movie together, a whole family rarely reads a book, though. Literature is a far more intimate experience. It's personal, in your face and in your head in a way that few films ever will be.
So, again, what can we do about it?
Aside from the spoiler aspect, providing detailed content warnings on literary works would be very expensive. A certified third party organization would eventually be involved to verify the content of the book. Authors would end up eating the cost of this in a lot of cases -- not only independent and small publisher authors but don't think that even a large publishing house would be willing to eat that cost for all of their authors. If the authors don't pay for it, it will get built into the cost of a book -- making it more expensive. However you boil it down there would be damage to the literary industry. Also, films are subject to editing in order to be released. Would we really want to go down the rabbit hole of censorship in literature? Stores could only want to stock non-triggering material and that could lead to publishers and agents who are unwilling to include some content in books -- demanding that it be edited out before publishing.
That would be the death knell of the literary arts.
Yet, we must absolutely not disenfranchise people who are susceptible to psychological harm from our works.
So, I believe that (in an imperfect world) the least imperfect solution should be left in the community of readers. I would encourage readers to build forums to communicate with one another and even do their own logging of triggers contained within books to share with one another.
Also, I would HIGHLY ENCOURAGE readers with questions about content to seek out the author of the work in question (either through their social media page or via publisher) and just ask if something might be contained within the book.
Authors are surprisingly generous and communicative with their readers. We love the fact that people take an interest in our work and would have absolutely no problem taking time out of our day to alleviate your concerns. This way you can put your head to rest and we can preserve the integrity of our work.
It's not a perfect solution, but these ideas could go a long way to preventing someone from stumbling upon something in their reading that could be damaging to their psyche.
I am really interested in hearing thoughts on this.
Monday, January 6, 2020
Maestri: The Second Act
When I wrote The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett my goal was to create a tight, claustrophobic atmosphere filled with suspense, despair, hopelessness. I knew it was going to be a lot, trying to write my first book, and I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. I wrote in first person and limited the scenes and settings to keep a tight, claustrophobic feel to the story. Everything in there is laid out like a journal as David descends into a strange reality that tears his mind and body apart. There were only a handful of characters in the story to help me keep the story focused and heading in the proper direction. I am incredibly proud of what I accomplished. It was exactly what I set out to do.
As I set out to write out the loose follow-up, Maestri, I had dreams of a grand universe that I wanted to fill with creatures and scenery both beautiful and horrifying. There are emotionless beings perfectly suited to be cold blooded killers, or to be more humane than the most soft-hearted human.
Act 2 sees us leaving the human world behind and the story moving from a horror story with an odd set of characters to where it is now opening up to this incredible universe populated with wondrous features. I have spent a lot of time world building. I even spent two weeks creating detailed outlines and character sheets for a set of a half dozen characters that would appear in precisely one scene in the book, spanning just a few pages. This story is serious to me.
MFoDB was just the introduction to this universe. Maestri pulls back the curtain and allows us to peek behind the veil and get a good look at the Concentric Worlds around our own.
I hope you join me on this splendid journey into the bleak unknown as young Arabella matures and makes her way into a universe that she never new existed, learning exactly who and what she is and why she is the target of multiple factions who want her -- either alive or dead. When her power comes to fruition, to what master will it serve?
Maestri - coming summer 2020.
Read The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett (Concentric Worlds, book 1) out now on ebook and in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431 FREE on Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 to own on ebook or $12.99 with free prime delivery in beautiful paperback with wrap-a-round artwork on the cover.
As I set out to write out the loose follow-up, Maestri, I had dreams of a grand universe that I wanted to fill with creatures and scenery both beautiful and horrifying. There are emotionless beings perfectly suited to be cold blooded killers, or to be more humane than the most soft-hearted human.
Act 2 sees us leaving the human world behind and the story moving from a horror story with an odd set of characters to where it is now opening up to this incredible universe populated with wondrous features. I have spent a lot of time world building. I even spent two weeks creating detailed outlines and character sheets for a set of a half dozen characters that would appear in precisely one scene in the book, spanning just a few pages. This story is serious to me.
MFoDB was just the introduction to this universe. Maestri pulls back the curtain and allows us to peek behind the veil and get a good look at the Concentric Worlds around our own.
I hope you join me on this splendid journey into the bleak unknown as young Arabella matures and makes her way into a universe that she never new existed, learning exactly who and what she is and why she is the target of multiple factions who want her -- either alive or dead. When her power comes to fruition, to what master will it serve?
Maestri - coming summer 2020.
Read The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett (Concentric Worlds, book 1) out now on ebook and in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431 FREE on Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 to own on ebook or $12.99 with free prime delivery in beautiful paperback with wrap-a-round artwork on the cover.
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