Monday Review

I got nothing this week. Been busy writing... I opened The Last Rogue by Connie Mason and I'm very much enjoying it! London, smugglers, histry, village virgins... what more could you ask for? Oh! I know, a lord who has taken a vow of celibacy for an entire year. :D Now that's entertainment.

I don't know that I mentioned Nano when it was over. I finished at a measly 12K. Eh. I didn't even really get into the meat of my plotted story, but started a novella length on the fly at about week 3. It's a fun story, apparently, I like fun stories. It's just good to be writing. :D

The cookie exchange was YUMMY! My family is happy and I didn't have to do all the work. A win-win situation for sure. What about you? Have you done your holiday baking? What's your FAVORITE item to make AND eat during the Christmas season?

Start Thinking NOW!

New Year Resolutions...

Last year at this time I was quickly writing through a manuscript. Though I'm doing the same now, it feels different. This ms is novella length and headed for an epublisher. Last year's manuscript is being put through the ringer... er, being subbed to agents. :D

So, I've started thinking. What's going to be on my plate in 2010?
I have three weeks to figure it all out. Writing, School, Reading, Exercising...

Enjoy December with love and spirit[s]!
Love,
Bethanne

Cappuccino Crinkles

1/3 cup butter or margarine
1C packed brown sugar
2/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1T instant coffee granules
1t baking baking soda
1t ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
1/3 C low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C granulated sugar

1. In large mixing bowl beat the butter or margarine with an electirc miser on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or till softened. Add the brown sugar, cocoa powder, coffee granules, baking soda, and cinnamon. Beat till combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg whites and yogurt till combined. beat in as much of the flour as you can with the miser. Stir in remaining flour.

2. Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Drop dough by a teaspoon into sugar and roll into balls. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookoie sheet. Bake in a 350* oven for 8 to 10 minutes till edges are firm. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 40 cookies.

Nutrition Facts per cookie: 60 cal., 2g total fat, 4 mg chol., 52 mg sodium, 10g carbo., 0 g fiber, 1g pro.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TIME!

I'm making these for a Cookie Swap on Sunday, and let me tell you, they are YUMMY!
I'm contemplating substituting peppermint for cinnamon, but I also hate to mess with a recipe...

We shall see. Maybe I'll do TWO batches! :D
December is a time of anticipation and waiting.
Let your Excitement GROW!

Monday Review

I didn't make it through Jennifer Weiner's Certain Girls. I can still say good things about it, though. I loved her characterization. The mom/MC was definitely insecure yet cocky enough to get away with her individuality. The daughter is also well-written, distinctive and vibrant. The secondaries added to my ability to know the Main Characters better without drawing all the attention to themselves...even though they are quirky and fun.

However, the mother is the reason I stopped reading. But it was the portrayal of the mother through the daughter's Point-of-View that bugged me. The daughter, a deaf young woman just trying to break free, has a hard time with her mother's attention. This theme does not bother me. It's not the daughter's angst...

No! It is their combined image issues. Ack! I'm fat, my mom has big boobs and she flaunts them--which is annoying because in the mom's POV we've got her dogging herself because of her LACK of physical attributes--I'm so ugly and that's why I screwed up, thank goodness I found a man who can love me anyway. So what is it? Is she flat chested? or big-boobed?

The overall worst, though [and this is just from reading the first two chapters] was the mother's notion that her daughter was going to do so much better than she ever did BECAUSE she was beautiful. [I get that this is probably one of the main story arcs and that if I could get through the beginning, there would probably be a satisfying resolution] The mother barely survived adolescence as the ugly duckling. She is sure that life would have been better for her if she'd been beautiful. Now, we know the mother is not ugly! [what is ugly anyway?] because no one else perceieves her that way... not even the daughter. Unfortunately, when we hit the daughter's POV again, we find out the daughter has her own self-esteem issues in the beauty department...

And that is when I started pulling my hair out.
Sorry, I just can't keep going. I don't have it in me to watch this mother learn a lesson she really needs. I felt sorry for the daughter, yet at the same time, I wanted to smack her and tell her to WAKE UP! So she has a mom who is a little overbearing... deal with it. She could have a mother who is a drug addict. At least her mom cares!

My all time favorite character in this book is the Husband. I can see this story as a romance... Would rather see this story as a romance.

Thank God for my husband who always tells me--actually, he gets adamant, "Stop reading if you don't like it!" Anyway, this is just one lady's opinion of a well-recieved, well-written novel. And it was well-written, just not my cup of tea in the topic department. :)

Break? I think not

Well, I thought this would be a break, but I was wrong. I've spent the last three days zipping words onto my computer. Apparently, the dam broke...the wall came down, whatever you want to call it.

I just love when this happens.

Let me tell you, I am looking forward to this coming month!! Holidays and family. Christmas celebrations... starting next week with The Second Annual Cookie Swap!

I'm making Cappuccino Crinkles! I'll post that recipe next week with a pic of the finished product. Mmmmm. I can't wait.
Wishing you all peace.
With Love,
Bethanne

Stagnance

We all feel it at times, right?
As if we aren't moving forward? or backward? or even sideways?

There are LOTS of areas of my life that feel kind of stagnant right now. Thankfully, my relationship with my hubby isn't one of them. Haha. Nope, this isn't a posting rant about a relationship. Yay, me. :D

Just over a year ago, I dropped out of one of my online writing forums for various reasons that all lead to me realizing I needed to write for myself. Still in need of a support group, I found my new critique group at Passionate Critters and spent the last year writing and gaining confidence. Writing takes more than discipline and knowledge, it takes that confidence. Being back on track now, confident in my own writing, with another manuscript under my belt, maybe it's time to shake things up again.

See, there's no brass ring. Success isn't reaching some point so that we can retire, happy with the thought that we know all there is to know. Oh, no.

There's always something more...
So, what do I do now?
Well, I've reacquainted myself with the online writing forum. It's fun to get back in there and share the life. Share experiences.
I'm going to take a few classes in the winter semester at my local community college. I'm thinking criminology... and maybe a creative writing class... there are so many I have highlighted. I also have a University in my town, so I've had crazy thoughts about getting that degree in English that I never completed on my last run through the higher education mill. Wish me luck.
Last but not least, I might join a mentoring program through the writing forum I belong to.

If you're reading this and you agree with me, wanna take a class with me? Wouldn't that be fun? We could carpool. [you know who I'm talking about ;-)]

Women's Literature

I'm going to read a book by Jennifer Weiner.



I know. Shocking, isn't it? I took the recommendation from Kerri Sparling. I'll have more on that later.


For now, Monday Reviews [will it stick? I don't know.] I just woke and wanted to talk about the book I read last week. My first EVER Allison Brennan book. A women I have all kinds of RESPECT for, just by knowing her from being a part of the same writing organization.

Whoa, cool but wrong Brennan. [something tells me that Brennan shaves an awful lot of herself ;)]

That's better.

Sudden Death was a great introduction to books-by-Allison. Intense, fast-paced, smart. That's how I would describe Sudden Death.

What I really loved about this book was the sympathy I felt for the villain. Well, one of the villains. :D I believe, and I'm learning, that it takes real skill to create emotion like this for a guy who is torturing the good guys.

The more I read the news and hear about the bad stuff, the easier it is to forget that sometimes, it's not all black and white...

Now, on to the basics. Great job on characterization. Loved the way, i could relate to the hero and his cronies. The priest, especially. Torn loyalties there. I get that alot... not because I'm a priest, but because I'm always struggling to stay on the straight and narrow. Though the story isn't about the priest, he played a big role. Wanting to protect his brothers, yet needing to cooperate with the law. The hero, of course, was big, strong, alpha male. I know the time space makes the story a tad unbelievable, but Allison sets him up for the change... you know? Like he's ready to make that leap to commitment, he just needs a catalyst.

Enter: Megan Elliot. The book cover says, By-the-book Elliot. I guess I like that about her. If anything, I considered her self-doubt a little over played, but I still can't say it wasn't true to her character. Love, loved, loved the ending....

Allison worked in the clues, never leaving me behind. You know, some books are about the race. The adventure. Staying one step ahead of the bad guy. Brennan solved me a mystery, and I appreciate that, too. Clues were laid, and I followed them to the end.

...there is one scene I got a little queazy over, so if you have a weaker stomach, try the Weiner book. :D